When I got into NYU London’s study away program, one of my biggest fears was keeping in touch with my family and friends back in New York and New Jersey. After being here for five weeks, I believe I can say I have mastered how to how to stay in touch with the people who matter most to me in a very overwhelming, exciting, and busy time in my life.
When I lived in New York, only thirty minutes from my hometown in New Jersey, I texted or called my mom everyday. She always asked this of me, no matter how far from home I was. Now, being in London, always six hours ahead of her, this task becomes much harder. Still, every afternoon here, I at least text my mother what I am doing for the day or a picture of where I am. This way, she not only knows I am still alive, but can gain insight into what my life here is life.
Due to the time change, planning a time to talk to people is key. If I have a friend or a family member who I want to catch up with in a longer time period, I will try to schedule a phone call or Facetime session for the next day or next week. This way, we both make time for each other and I can plan around this allotted time to catch up my best friend or my sister about everything happening across the pond. Failing to do this could result in us not catching up at all, creating a lull in the relationship and leaving a lot of gaps to fill when we finally reunite in the Spring and I attempt to recount four crazy months of my life. Aside from the extravagant ordinary of living in London, on rare occasion, super exciting things happen to me. When this happens, I try to take a minute and send out one massive texts to my different groups of friends from New Jersey and New York just to keep everyone in the loop. This establishment of context makes it easier to follow up with updates and further developments into more rare and important instances that occur here, like seeing Drake in a Harrod’s store or taking a weekend trip to Barcelona.
We all know about how the real purpose of social media is to be a way to stay in touch. I have never felt this more than when living so far away from home. Facebook and Instagram have become an easy place where I can post pictures from my study abroad experience to show my family members what I am up to while I am here. This also becomes an easy way to show people who you don’t talk to on an everyday basis that you are studying abroad. Now, you don’t have to send your photos of you at the London eye to every family member for them to comment, “cute, be safe.” Even just communicating through Instagram comments connects me to the people who I never want to lost contact with, yet can never seem to remember to reach out to on a regular basis.
The truth is, being in London for a semester is not all that different from studying at New York University for the semester. There will always be friends in different states and countries who I used to see everyday and now talk to once a month maximum. As we move through our lives, my childhood friends and I seem to move farther and farther apart. But, I realize that I need to make an effort for the people I wish to remain in contact with. Keeping in touch is a two way street. The friends who wants to stay in touch will, as long as I do the same. I refuse to let this exciting time in my life hinder my relationships that I have fostered throughout the rest of my life. This will only add to the conversation and provide more talking points for when I inevitably meet up with my kindergarten best friend or my second cousin once again.