Keeping in Touch with Friends in College
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Chaatz for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
It can be really overwhelming to keep in touch with friends in college. If you go away to school, keeping in touch with friends from home should be a priority. It’s really easy to get swept up in your new school and forget to stay in touch with your friends from home, but it’s really important to keep those connections alive and well. When I first went away to school I really had to make an effort to talk with my friends from home. Some friendships just naturally drift, and it makes sense that you’re both going to change over time. Here are some of my tips for keeping in touch with friends in college!
Message Them Regularly
This is the twenty-first century. Smartphones are essentially glued to our hands nowadays, so you really have no excuse not to message your friends from home every once in a while! If you’re both going away to college for the first time, you likely are experiencing some of the same anxieties and worries. Check in with them every once in a while to make sure they’re doing well. Ask if they like their roommate or their classes, and if they’re making any good friends. Because regular texting can sometimes get boring, you might want to try using a more exciting messaging app like Chaatz. 
Chaatz is a unique messaging app available for iPhone that makes your messages ten times more exciting! Instead of appearing as plain text, your messages are transformed into fun comic strips! You can also easily send emoticons or selfies. This allows you to express yourself much more clearly and you’ll never have to guess how your pal is feeling. Downloading Chaatz is a good way of keeping in touch with friends from home in college!My favorite part of Chaatz are the games! You can easily start a game like four-in-a-row or checkers with a contact, and let me just tell you they are addictive! I’ve always been pretty competitive, so I can’t get enough of these! I feel much more connected to my friends from home when we’re battling it out over checkers! I’ve also had a blast with the doodle feature which lets you draw pictures on your smartphone and send them to your friends! I’m definitely not an artist, but it’s all the more fun to try to figure out what I was trying to create! Even though I live hundreds of miles away from my friends from home, Chaatz helps them be only a game, wink, or message away! You can download Chaatz on the app store today. What’s your favorite feature? 
Video Chat
Video chatting seriously comes in handy when you want to keep in touch with friends at college! I always video chat with my friends when I’m getting ready for an event. We like to get ready together and help with outfit selection! Some of my friends live in other countries now, so this is the only way we get to talk face to face!
Care Packages and Letters
I might be super old fashioned, but nothing is better than actual mail! I always send postcards and little packages to my friends who live far away! This is a great way to keep in touch because everyone loves receiving mail. It’s a really nice way to remind your friend that you’re thinking of them. When my friends first went away to college, I was always the one to send holiday-specific care packages. I sent chocolate on Valentines Galentines day, candy on Halloween, and school supplies during exam week. For more ideas check out my Final Exam Survival Kit care package which was a big hit last year!
Make Plans
It’s important to make old friends a priority on breaks and vacations. You can also take trips to each other’s campuses which are always great fun! This past weekend I had a friend from home visit for my birthday weekend. I showed her around my college and introduced her to my friends and favorite coffee spots. It was a great time and definitely brought us closer! We agreed that if I was ever up north near her campus she would give me the grand tour as well! Making plans to meet up every once in a while is a great way of keeping in touch with friends when in college!
The Importance of Keeping in Touch
What are your best tips for keeping in touch with friends when you go away to college? Do you like to use a messenger like Chaatz, or do you send some old-fashioned snail mail? It’s important to keep your old connections alive when you’re in college! It’s natural that some friendships fade away in college, but there are some worth holding onto.