A few weeks ago I got a call from an old friend of mine from home. Pearl was the first friend I made when I moved to Blacksburg the summer after third grade, and we have remained close ever since. Throughout the years, we signed up for the same classes, did each other’s makeup for the first time, baked endless amounts of brownies, had countless sleepovers in each other’s basements, hiked most of the trails in Blacksburg, watched every Nicholas Sparks movie, drove around aimlessly all night and finally, graduated high school together.
But after we left for college things slowly began to change — not just with Pearl, but also a few other close friends from home. My go-to friends from high school were no longer the first people I’d tell about my day, how hard my classes were or my plans for the weekend. We were all meeting new people, experiencing new things, and soon our promised weekly FaceTime calls digressed into monthly text conversations or shortened phone calls.
Of course, growing apart from old friends is to be expected in college. Distance, conflicting schedules and other changes make it hard to stay super close to every friend from high school. As we all soon realized college was a lot harder than we expected it to be, we stopped prioritizing these old friendships. Admittedly, I was torn about picking up the phone when Pearl called because I was studying for a chemistry exam I had the next day.
During our call, we talked about how crazy it was that we were second-years and how we still both had no idea what we want to do in the future. She told me about how she is now a YoungLife leader for a nearby middle school, something I always knew she would do, and how much she loves it. I debriefed her on my semester, told her about my new friends who are from as far as Texas and as close as Roanoke and that one Econ class I really struggled with.
For about an hour, we caught up on everything we missed out on over the past semester, and although we hadn’t spoken in a while, nothing was awkward between us. Pearl reassured me that school mattered, but not as much as my health and happiness, and I reminded her we still have a whole two years to decide what we want to do with our lives. She still had her quirky sense of humor, and it felt like nothing had changed.
After I hung up, I realized how important it is to keep old friends close. Though we hadn’t talked in awhile, Pearl still knew exactly who I was. She could tell I was anxious about my future, reminded me of my strengths and helped me put things back into perspective. More than anything, it was nice to listen to a familiar and comforting voice. It was reassuring to know someone from Blacksburg — other than my mom — still had my back.
I think there’s something about hometown friends that make them unlike any other friends you will meet in the future. Maybe it’s because they stuck by you while you still had braces, or helped you get the boys you liked to ask you to homecoming. They are the friends who grew up and matured alongside you, and sometimes staying in touch with them can help you remember valuable things about yourself you may have forgotten a while ago. Pearl reminded me I am way too optimistic to let a bad grade or a stressful semester get me down, and remembering that has already made these past few weeks much easier. Sometimes, a short conversation with an old friend who knows you well can make a big impact.
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