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When your best friend or romantic partner is miles away, it can be difficult to be optimistic about the future. At one time they were constantly by your side, and now, a simple phone call doesn’t seem like enough to recapture what the two of you had shared.
While the distance might prove difficult, it doesn’t have to mean that your relationship suffers. There are plenty of ways to keep in touch with each other that will provide a peacefulness and serenity to your bond so that the miles seem to disappear!
The first thing to keep in mind is that although the meaning of friendship is roughly the same to everyone, everywhere; people are different, and need different things from one another. When you start on the journey of maintaining a long-distance friendship or romantic relationship, be sure to determine what it is that your friend needs from you, and likewise, let them know what you need from them.
Utilize Social Media
There’s a reason social media is so popular! It has been able to bring long lost friends and family together and helps people be a part of each other’s lives regardless of where they might live. Keep the other aspects of social media in mind that can work in your favor when trying to stay connected. For instance:
- Snapchat – This platform offers users entertainment and inventiveand always changing filters that also encourage participation with others. Send each other funny ‘snaps’ every day as a reminder that you’re thinking of them.
- Facebook– It has been popular for a decade and is a great way to keep in touch because it allows you to tag people in photos, and provides memories from years earlier,which are also taggable.
- Zoom–is a video conferencing app that is free to private users. You can share photos, screens, add people on the call, and keep it just voice or even text if you like.
Send Fun Gifts
Is your friend homesick? Is he or she missing your home-made brownies or cupcakes? Every couple of weeks, consider sending them a box of diverse ‘treats.’ This might include things like baked goods, local postcards, printed out pictures of the two of you, hand-written letters, gift cards (available from millions of merchants all over the world), and even small dollar-store figurines that remind you of them.
Write a Book Together Online
It’s easy to start a blog, it’s free and nowadays the UI is friendly and intuitive. If the two of you like collaborating, think about starting a book, fiction or non-fiction, or even an actual blog. It can be as silly or serious as you desire, and it’s a fun way to stay inside each other’s minds and keep the relationship active and thriving.
Connect with Each Other Via Spotify
Music plays an integral role in many people’s lives. It is often the backdrop for numerous important events, and even the smaller ones like gatherings and holidays. You can continue with this by sharing a Spotify playlist specifically with each other. Add to it the songs that are important to you, and continue adding as you discover more.
Hold Virtual “Events”
Technology is an amazing thing in that it allows people the opportunity to stay and feel connected even if they are on the other side of the world. Take advantage of this by holding virtual events with each other – and ask other friends to participate using Zoom, Facebook Live or any one of the other video messaging services available. Use technology to:
- Cook and eat dinner together
- Hold a virtual happy hour
- Watch a movie together
- Sing Karaoke, using favorite songs
Send Scrapbook Pages Back & Forth
While sending an entire scrapbook through the mail would likely be cumbersome and costly, sending the pages to be filled out would be relatively easy. Arm yourselves with scrapbooking goodies like die cuts, markers, glue, etc., and then go back and forth with filling the pages with themed photos and events.
Arrange Various Challenges
What are some things the two of you can do separately and then share your experiences with one another later? Make a list of items on your ‘couple or BFF bucket list, things like:trying a particular ethnic restaurant, ziplining, snowshoeing, etc. Once you have your list, make ‘dates’ with each other to fulfill these experiences and then share pictures and thoughts. This makes for a great blog idea, too!
Sacrifice Something & Save
It’s inevitable that the two of you will be getting back together again, in person. Each of you can offer something that you’ll give up, like that extra indulgent morning coffee, and then put the money saved into a jar. Share pictures of the jars filling up, and start researching and scheduling for that trip to see one another soon.
Thanks to technology, it’s easier than ever before to keep in touch with loved ones who have moved away. It doesn’t have to mean the end of a relationship; in fact, it can be the start of something even more fun and exciting!
