tonight is all about "we miss you"

this is it. in a week and a half i will be on a flight to chicago, and then on a flight to london. i can't get over the fact that i won't be going back to south bend this semester, and that i won't see most of the people i love most until january. i feel so far away from everyone already. longing has taken up residence in my chest and it's squeezing me dry. i miss my friends. i miss talking and laughing and just being together. i miss what the eight of us have-- not everyone gets that. not everyone makes seven best friends who will love them to the end. not everyone keeps connections across continents. it's not easy, but i know we can do it.

i cannot wait for my adventure, but secretly, i'm almost more anxiously awaiting the time we can all be in the same room, quietly invading each other's space, laughing until our stomachs hurt. i can't wait until we can share those adventures that we'll have separately, until we can be ridiculous together, until we can cry together, until we can breathe the same air and love each other in the same space again.