As time continues its inexorable march ever onward, an important event draws closer: the start of summer break. For many, this means relaxing or getting jobs, and for others, it means going on trips through the country to visit family. While school is often considered boring, there is one thing that most people can agree on being a benefit: school keeps friends together on a structured schedule that ensures close contact. You can reliably see friends once a day, whether that is in class, at lunch, or in an after-school club. Once the final bell rings and everyone rushes out, friends will have to keep each other to certain practices to hang out. This can often prove difficult, especially with high schoolers, who are stepping into the real world for the first time as they get jobs and learn to drive. These newfound responsibilities can pressure teenagers and their attempts to stay in touch with people they are close to, and they struggle to reconcile the fact that they will notsee these people face to face daily anymore. As freshman Austin Ungaro explains, “I just kinda forget that some people exist until they text me.”

To make matters more complicated and annoying, people will spend a lot of their summer going on trips out of the local area. Sophomore Rasul Vanga says, “I usually go on a trip to New York every summer.” How are people ever supposed to continue friendships through these hectic periods? Well, according to Urban Student Life you might “plan a trip together. There are plenty of options for travelling and holidays as a group.” Planning a trip is a good idea. While a fun way to keep in touch with friends, it is also a great way to exercise planning and coordinating skills. Another superb way to stay updated is to use social media. According to The Odyssey Online, “With Snapchat, you can instantly update your bestie on your summer adventures by sending glamorous selfies, a quick pic of whatever delicious meal you’re treating yourself to, or a dumb video of you just making faces at them.” This is a great way to put some fun into your messages while being quick and easy. There is also Instagram, where you can send reels about whatever and without the need to send messages. Even just going with regular text messages works wonders if you are paying any attention to the chats.

Another difficult aspect of talking over the summer is new college friends. These are friends who will leave the school and go all the way back to their hometowns during break. Staying in touch with these people is a challenge as it is so much harder to meet up with them in person. The Daily Californian says, “Having a similar hobby gives you both a chance to reconnect over something you enjoy. The options are limitless! All it takes is some reinvention and imagination.” These hobbies can be online like video games or sending snaps. Senior Joseph So says, “Me and my friend like to read the same books and discus them with each other.” This connection can really push people to think about and get excited about sending each other updates on their hobbies. While it may not feel like it all the time, people are always doing their own thing. Remember to find out what is going on in their life as well. The UBC College News Paper says, “Chances are, you both have exciting things happening. Hit them up on Facebook Messenger, respond to their cool IG stories, or stay connected with video chats and phone calls—you can share your travel stories, work shenanigans, or simply memes that remind you of them!” According to Urban Student Life, “The great part about university friends is that you most likely live at opposite ends of the country or even in a different country, so you can even make a trip out of going to each other’s home!”

Its hard to keep someone in mind after you stop interacting with them daily, so if you want to keep friendships reinforced, you need to check up on them. No amount of chaos is enough to stop a person from sending one text message here or there just to make sure someone is okay. Planning hangouts and connecting over various shared hobbies is always important and necessary to keep a relationship afloat, but all this interaction starts out with one message or one ping. Junior Victor Soto states, “I fell away from a few of my friends over the summer because I neglected them.” There will always be a desire for connection within any person, so be sure to send a text message out every once in a while, to make sure your friends are okay.