Distance.

A dear friend's birthday today reminded me of one of my most and least favorite parts of adult life: distance. (Time, too.) Before this past Memorial Day weekend, I hadn't seen this particular friend for over four years. When we reconnected, it was like not a moment or mile had lapsed.

Similarly:

• I currently live just under 800 miles from the only house I knew until after I turned 24. When I moved, I left three of my best friends: the three women I shared that house with for all those years. Now, when I go back, it's like I never left.
• Two of my very best friends in the world live 1,176.6 mi (18 hrs) and 885.5 miles (13.75 hrs) away. For the first three years I knew them, we saw each other for a total of only 27 days...non-consecutively...and that's only if you count the days mostly consumed by late night and early morning flights. 
• Two more of my best friends are people who were first my teachers but who I have only since gotten the privilege of calling my friends. Now, they're even better friends than they ever were teachers - and believe you me, they were some of the best!
• I also have two best friends here in my new town who live a whopping 20.3 and 1.6 miles from me, respectively. We share and trust, and the fact that I've gotten close to each in less than a year makes no difference.

I know in my heart that moving away from home was the best decision I've ever made. It makes going back that much sweeter, and I have grown in ways I cannot even begin to describe here. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and for me, distance has been part of the journey.

For that reason, my advice to all is this: Get out. Explore. But don't forget to hold your friends and family close, nor to take the time to go back home every once in a while. The return is what makes it all worth it.


<3 KSM