I’m a social person, but I don’t make good friends easily. It takes a lot for me to find someone I can truly vibe with, and when I find those people I spend all my time with them. One of the things I value most in life is friendship.

Because of this, this past August and early September were really tough for me. It’s not because of my busy work schedule, or the fact that senior year was coming up quicker than expected, but because a lot of my close friends left for college.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m so proud of my friends. Going off to college is a very scary step, and it can be a confusing and stressful time for them. They’re off living their new lives in a new environment and in a situation where they’ve never been alone before, and that takes a lot of courage.

The part that isn’t so awesome is the fact that as their friend, you have to let them experience that. This was tough, being someone who gets really attached to the people she holds close.

I reminded myself to give my friends a healthy amount of space in order for them to grow and explore their new life and get to experience new things, aside from their old lives back home.

Something unexpected arose in me, too. A feeling I got when I saw their Snapchats with the new friends they’ve made and the cool places they’ve been going. I started to develop major FOMO- fear of missing out.

Fear of missing out on their new memories, their new style changes, their blossoming into finding themselves and what they’re truly passionate about- things you want to be able to experience with them because you care about them.

You also feel like you’re missing out on life because you’re still stuck in high school when the grass seems so much greener on those wondrous university campuses.

To cope, I had to learn to remind myself that my friends still love and care about me and that their new journey is not about me. It’s not a bad thing to miss your friends, but you have to remember you still have an adventure of your own of which to be a part.