No matter where you’ve been or who you’ve seen, bidding farewell to all that that summer offers can be a little difficult, especially when it means potentially not seeing your nearest and dearest for quite some time.
It is important to remember that saying goodbye doesn’t mean you’ll never see that person - or even that place - again. They don’t disappear in a puff of smoke the second you cross the threshold. I’m not denying that it’s tough. Even heading into my third year, it’s hard to leave my family and friends behind at home, but I get by because I know there’ll always only be a phone-call or a Facebook message away.
Just because you’re not physically close to someone, it doesn’t mean that your relationship with them has to suffer. Think of being apart as adding a new dimension to your friendship, instead of something that simply defines it. Over the past two years of university I’ve actually seen my relationships with some friends grow stronger because, by being apart, it’s meant that we’ve taken more care and put more effort into keeping the friendship alive.
Whether it’s the odd Snapchat or text every now and then about some in-joke you might have or a funny story from your day, any bit of correspondence, no matter how small, shows that you still think about them.
In fact, keeping in touch with friends and family is easier now than it ever has been before. Whether you realise it or not, just by flicking through Facebook or Twitter every now and then, you’re keeping up to date with all the goings-on in each other’s lives.
If that’s not quite enough, or you really just don’t fancy finally adding your mum or dad on Facebook, there’s nothing stopping you from firing off a quick 20-minute phone or Skype call. You’re never 'uncool' for missing home - everyone does.
The quality may not always be great, but Skype is pretty useful for keeping friendships alive.
Believe it or not, the options for staying in contact don’t stop there. Depending on where your friends or family members happen to be in the world, there is always the option to travel to them too. We’re lucky in Southampton - we have two well-linked train stations, an airport, and our very own coach terminal at the University’s Highfield Campus Interchange, meaning no matter your budget, travelling to and from Southampton is always easy.
In fact, exploring each other’s universities and showing friends and family members around the city can be great fun in itself, and it’s a fantastic way to discover parts of Southampton that you never knew existed. In my second year, I formed a pact with two of my best friends from home and over the course of the year, we travelled up and down the country together and explored each other’s universities. Not only did it allow us to see more of England, but it also brought us closer together as a unit.
Trains are significantly easier to master than you would think.
On a more serious note, this advice works just as well for couples attempting to take their relationship long-distance too. In my first year, I embarked on a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend from home, and within a few weeks of settling in, we had set up a regular routine of visiting each other on the train and spending time together via FaceTime. Even just spending the odd evening in, and watching a film or TV show at the same time as each other, made the distance between us seem significantly smaller than it was.
Then of course, there’s the holidays. University term times in Southampton leave usually several weeks free around both Christmas and Easter and an even longer stretch over summer, meaning that even if you have to travel abroad to see your family and friends, there is plenty of time to actually do so!
Ultimately, my point is simply that although the time to say goodbye to loved ones feels fast approaching, it is only ever a temporary farewell. The life of a student is as crazy as you make it, and there’s always room for keeping in touch.
Ben
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