Former and current BYU-Hawaii students say the best way to stay in touch with friends is through meaningful, dedicated ways of contact such as a phone call, though social media and messaging are also good ways to stay updated on each others’ lives.
Alex Maldonado, a former BYUH student from Nebraska studying communications at BYU at Provo, said, “Until I moved here I was the worst at keeping up with people, but now I want to, so I reach out and catch up.”
Florentine Pedron, a sophomore from Tahiti majoring in hotel and tourism management, described college friendships as “the most powerful and strong relationship I can create. The friends I made here are my friends forever because we shared so much.”
Jialang Chen, a sophomore from China majoring in accounting, said the best way to stay in touch with your friends after college is through social media, especially those you met at BYUH. Though social media can be a good way to stay in contact, it doesn’t mean that it will always work, Chen mentioned. “It depends. If they’re from the same country, I will probably stay in contact, but if they’re from somewhere else, I will probably talk to them on holidays.”
Agreeing that social media is useful because the campus is so diverse, Maldonado said, “There are some who I will call usually once or twice a week to catch up and share gossip. The closest friends get tagged in memes and phone calls.
“Social media is good because you get little snippets, but the best way is to make time to get to catch up. … It doesn’t even have to be that big. Remember to keep them in mind. Schedule a time when they’ll both be free. That’s the hard part.”
Pedron said it wouldn’t be hard to keep in touch because of the internet. “Internet makes things so much easier. You’re not physically with the person but you can text them. Even though we are far, it’s not even a problem to keep in touch with them. I love this university because you can have so much connection, like worldwide.
Maldonado talked about how important his college friends are to him. “I hope to have them as lifelong friends, pretty much all of them. I don’t think I know a single person from high school who I keep up with, [but] here I continue to keep up with college friends. College pushes you to interact more outside of class.
“I honestly feel like I’m at a point in my life where I’m making long-term friends. I’m putting in more effort. I still call them on the phone and make time. That’s the key to success. Because I’m doing that with the friendships I have now, they can last up to longer than five years.
“Once I found the circle of friends where I truly feel like I want to be around, it makes me pickier and truly analyze people. I don’t just pick people because they’re nice.”
Perdon compared the difference between her college friendships and high school friendships. “Now we are adults, so the mindset is really different. I like people who have known what they want in life, so they are just direct and adult. In high school, it’s not friends for life, you just need to be part of a group. College you have a vision and those relationships are more meaningful.
“I think every experience that I’ve experienced with those people have built me and I think that I become a better person, and this is how I’m going to bring my entire life. Filipino’s serve a lot so I admire those people. I think service is a good way to show love so I’m going to do that. This is how I’m going to keep all those things with me.”
Writer: Hannah Jones & Savanna Bachelder