It hit me as she dramatically complained that she only spoke to her boyfriend ’for an hour instead of our daily three’, that I hadn’t spoken to my best friend of seven years in weeks. Somewhere between my 9am supervisions, spontaneous essay crises, and the existential haze of Week 5, our friendship had quietly taken a backseat.

And it wasn’t just her. My home friendships had become one-line updates in the group chat or the occasional ‘miss you! ’ text with no follow-up. We were summoned for either birthdays or breakdowns. No more random reels. No late-night calls. Just the slow drift of once-daily people becoming ‘I should text them’ people.

It’s easy to let long-distance friendships wither under the weight of a Cambridge schedule. But here’s the thing: these friendships matter. They’re the group chats that got you through A-Levels. The people who knew you before your weekly Rumboogie arc began. And if you’re not careful, long breaks and longer silences can make things weird. You come home and realise you’ve run out of things to say to someone you used to share a brain with.

“The internet has made it easier than ever to feel close, even when you’re not”

We hear so much about maintaining long-distance relationships, but friendships deserve just as much care. So, whether you’re trying to keep up with home friends while drowning in deadlines, or preparing to stay in touch with uni mates over the long holidays, here are a few ways to keep the spark alive (without adding another item to your never-ending to-do list).

Waffle Wednesdays

Establish a weekly debrief. Maybe it is Wednesdays, or it’s when you’re both fighting the Sunday scaries. Pick a time and show up — ideally with gossip in one hand and a snack (waffles optional) in the other. It doesn’t need to be a grand catch-up, just a cosy ritual that keeps the connection alive. Bonus points if you throw on a good background film – Pitch Perfect is my go-to (an impromptu sing-along is what a debrief needs). Think of it as your weekly kitchen catch-up, but long-distance and glitchier.

The joys of technology

But, if chatting for hours feels like a chore, especially post-supervision when your brain is mush, go for passive bonding. Teleparty lets you sync up shows and movies like you’re lounging on the same sofa. Laughing at the same bad plotlines in real time? Surprisingly grounding. I’m currently watching Glee with my home friends and…there’s no shortage of opinions.

And if you’re not in the mood for TV, there are plenty of other apps that help bridge the distance. Airbuds let you see what your friends are listening to – like a virtual mixtape exchange. Locket sends photos straight to each other’s home screens: think unflattering selfies, cat sightings, or your overpriced college brunch. And for the astrologically inclined, Co–Star lets you check each other’s horoscopes and blame all communication breakdowns on Mercury retrograde. Whether it’s bad TV, good playlists, or shared star signs – the internet has made it easier than ever to feel close, even when you’re not.

“Nothing steadies you quite like an old friend saying, ‘Guess what happened…’”

Mini book club

Start a two-person book club, even if you both skim the last 30 pages. Pick something fun, thought provoking, or soul-crushing (Normal People, anyone?), and talk about it like you’re in an intense seminar. The goal isn’t to become literary scholars – it’s to find a shared moment, something to talk about that isn’t just your deadline dread. Or better yet, swap books with sticky notes scribbled in the margins: passing thoughts, dramatic reactions, or ‘this line is so YOU’. It becomes a reminder that your friendships still exist in the margins, even when it feels like your lives are happening in different chapters.

Rotating postcard system

An old-school gem and wildly underrated. The concept is simple: take turns posting each other dramatic, niche, or nonsensical postcards. Think: ’I tried the secret flavour at Jack’s today. Kewpie mayo is not for me’. There is something endearing about receiving a physical note when most of our communication is a barrage of texts. It’s tangible, slightly chaotic, and you get to pretend you’re in an Austen novel. Plus, you’re in Cambridge – a postcard hotspot. Just wander down King’s Parade and you’ll find options that range from genuinely beautiful to hilariously cursed.

The intimacy of mundanity

Who says FaceTime has to mean staring at each other awkwardly? Instead, call them while you do your laundry, when you’re speed-cleaning your room, or as you cook whatever you’re calling dinner for the night. Prop the phone up and just exist together. The mundanity is the magic. It’s that no-performance kind of presence that mirrors how you used to hang out: doing absolutely nothing, but together. Sometimes, those meandering conversations can feel more like old times than any scheduled catch-up call ever could.

Friendships don’t need daily heart-to-hearts to survive – but they do need intention. The kind that quietly says, ‘you matter’, even when you’re both spiralling in opposite corners of the country. You’re not a bad friend because the term got hectic; you just have to be more deliberate about staying in each other’s orbit. So pick up the phone, start the book, and plan the movie night. Because in the middle of all the confusion, chaos, and occasional loneliness, nothing steadies you quite like an old friend saying, ‘Guess what happened…’.