Being Away From The People You Love

Have you ever been in a situation where you are away from your loved ones? It can be living in a different city than your best friend or having a long distance relationship, even living in a different country. 

I've had all of the above and it can be very frustrating and sad.

Last year I went to Prague for a semester abroad and while I was excited for this new adventure, it meant leaving behind everything and everyone I knew. It was scary and nerve wracking. At the beginning, the first thing I wanted to do when I experienced something cool or went to a new place was to talk to my friends and my family about it, but then I started to meet new people and make new friends and the feeling of nostalgia started to fade away. After some months I thought it would disappear, but it was still there, like a constant reminder, it was like that feeling you have when going on holiday and you think you forgot to pack something. 

But Prague was not the first time I was away and missing someone. I was born in Mexico City and at a very young age moved with my family to another city with my family, leaving behind all my relatives. At first we visited often but then less and less. As a sophomore in college my best friend moved to the other side of the country and I kinda had LDR for a few months after Prague. 

How do I survive? Well I have a couple tips and tricks that I want to share with you:

1. Technology. Keeping in touch with people who live far away is easy with all the apps we have for communicating. Everyone is a text away. I use Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and Snapchat. Oh, and all those #tbt on Instagram with my bestfriend of course!
2. Call. I know, I hate using the phone too but sometimes you can't actually use skype and need to talk to that one person right away. Call the ones you love and I assure you it'll be fun!
3. Travel. I save up some money for a couple months and then travel as often as I can to see my best friend, she does the same. This applies to all the people that I want to visit, some places are further and require more money saving but in the end it's worth it.
4. Share. Do you see a picture that reminds you of your cousin living in another city? Share it with him or her. Or maybe you just had your significant other's favorite meal? Tell them! Share the little things in your life that remind you of the people you love, they'll appreciate. Also share things that are currently happening in your life, it doesn't matter if it's a small thing, it'll keep you both on the same page of what's going on with your lives. 
5. Cherish the moment. Appreciate every second you get to be together, hold on to those memories and create more while you're in the same place -you don't even have to be together to do this but it has an extra special significance if you are. Live in the moment, don't mourn on the fact that you won't be together in the next few days, just be there enjoying every second of it.
6. Keep living. Don't forget to live your life while you're not together, meet new people and make new friends. This is catch up material for when you see each other again! Keep on with your life, be yourself and grow. 

Today is my best friend's birthday and for different reasons we couldn't be together, so it's sad but I know that we'll see each other pretty soon.

I think we can all relate to this feeling of nostalgia and of missing someone we love. Has it ever happen to you?

XO
Mary

PS. This is my first article on MTS, so let me know what do you think! Thanks for reading!!
PS2. Check more of my writing on my blog It's Not Vanity