They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but when you’re separated from your sorority sisters, the only thing that benefits is maybe your liver. But, it’s a fact that one (extremely large) glass of wine a day is totally good for you, so you could actually say that leaving your sorority sisters for break or after graduation is horrible for your health, relationship, and wine cork collection. What do you do when your little is in California surfing with beach hotties while you’re knee deep in New York City snow? Good news is, it’s 2014 and there are ways to get over the curveball that distance throws at your sisterly relationships. Even though you may no longer be roomies at the sorority house and you can’t heel trot together in your highest pumps to the nearest bar every chance you get, there are ways to avoid separation anxiety. Here are a few tips on how to keep your best girls in the loop even when you’re states apart.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter
These may seem like obvious ways to stay connected, but they only work if you’re also cool with 900+ other people eavesdropping in on the bonding. The best way to make these outlets more personal is through tagging and hashtagging, of course. The next time you think to yourself, “Oh my gosh, I wish my girls were here,” just post or tweet something like this and wait for them to join in on the nostalgia:
• “Watching ‘Mean Girls’ wishing you girls were here so we could fight over who’s more like Regina George–still me obviously.”
• “Should I dress up as Edgar Allen Ho for Halloween or wear your costume I still have?”
• “Making out with a soldier is technically serving my country, right? Your brother says hi btw, miss you.”
Instagram is particularly beneficial for sharing images from your nights of debauchery, but with this one it’s all about the captions:
“Look Big, I wrote our letters and names in the bathroom stall just like old times <3”
Snapchat is almost as good as being there, and it has the benefit of temporary existence. Whether it’s a quick pic or a video, nothing puts your sisters in the moment like the perfect Snapchat.
“Twerking on the bouncer…most action he’s had all night”
Skype Wine Dates
You generally use Skype for talking to relatives, interviewing for jobs, and other not so G-rated ways of connecting. But it’s also ideal for wine dates and long distance drinking games with your sisters. As long as you have a stable Internet connection, you can play any of these drinking games via Skype just like you did at the sorority house while your house mom was asleep:
• Never Have I Ever
• 2 Truths, 1 Lie
• Higher or Lower
Or, if you’re not in the mood to play games, you can just stick to the usual wine and tumbler combo. Just turn on the webcam and let the long-distance memory making begin.
Care Packages
Nothing says “I know you’re probably recovering from last night” like a care package filled with all of the little things that let your sisters know how well you get them. Each care package, of course, serves a different purpose, but they all say “I miss you tons, so here’s a box of stuff.” Make sure there’s a framed picture in there of one of your many good times, and the bond will continue to last.
The Old-Fashioned Phone Call
It may take all of the effort in the world, but finding the time to make an actual phone call shows you care and are thinking about your favorite sisters. Even if it’s at 3 a.m. and “Wagon Wheel” is playing in the background so loudly that you can barely make out the words, your sisters will appreciate hearing your voice. Plus, you know that’s your bar jam and you can’t help but feel sentimental every time you hear it.