The other day I was catching up with my best friend from high school whom I hadn’t talked to in a couple of weeks. I was telling her about some problem that came up which I had stressed over, but by the time I was filling her in the issue was resolved and old news. She said, “Abby! Why didn’t you tell me this happened?!”
And I asked myself the same question. An outside opinion would have helped me so much and gave my Boston-centric issue a fresh perspective (And it is always great to catch up with friends). Sometimes you get caught up in the BU bubble of lectures, studying, dining hall lunches and roommates that it is really easy to forget about the other aspects of your life. I think it is so important to keep in touch with family and loved-ones and they are equally grateful to be kept in the loop. With things like iPhones, and Facebook and Skype it is so easy to iChat your mom in Florida on your walk home from class, IM your best friend studying abroad in Dublin, Skype with your boyfriend abroad in Morocco and then call your family who lives in New Orleans. Old school snail-mail is also a thoughtful and often overlooked way of keeping in touch. I just sent an actual letter to my great Aunt who doesn’t have a cell phone and she was so grateful to be kept in the know about what I’m up to in college. Sometimes things can get overwhelming when you text a friend to tell them to get on Facebook so you can send them a link to a video another friend saw on Twitter and then emailed you about. So be careful to not get overwhelmed and only reach out when and for how long you want to. If it takes you a day to respond to a text that is absolutely fine. I’m sure your loved one will appreciate it no matter what.
Technology really does amaze me. Morocco is 3,515 miles away. I’m surprised I even get to see a picture.
This isn’t how it is every week, but sometimes you just have to call your Mom four or five times in one day. (We were making holiday plans and I kept losing the call in the elevator. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it, okay?)