I've been in denial for the last few months. But I must confess. I am growing a part from my closest friend, my best friend.

We've been best friends since 6th grade. Our friendship has lasted for over 8 years. She moved schools when we were in 11th grade and we still remained friends. We've been through thick and thin. She knows my whole life, my family, my secrets. And I know hers. We watched each other grow into young women. We shared so many good and crazy times. We even went on vacation to Tampa Florida together last month, July.

However, our friendship has been struggling ever since we graduated high school. We barely hang out. We make plans and they usually fall through.
 
I try to reach out to her to hang out, but she always has other plans. I'll text her and we'll talk for a minute and then she'll stop texting me after a while. I'll ask if she wants to hang out and she's either at work or with her.

After a while of trying, I'll tell her to just hit me up when she's available and it will be days sometimes a week later. I've been home from college since May and besides the vacation, we've only seen each other no more than 10 times. We used to see each other almost everyday during high school.

I work about 40 hours a week 9 to 5. I drive 45 mins to my college twice a week for one job. Yet I still find time to call her. She doesn't put in as much effort.

One problem is that she spends a lot of time with her boyfriend. I can't compete for time with a person she's intimate with. I realize that relationships take a lot of work and she wants to spend time with the person she loves. I also can't complain about it because I'm at college for 4 months at a time. I can't always be there like her boyfriend and her other friends can be.

Last week, I hung out with her and her boyfriend and he barely spoke to me, he kept saying he was bored, and I felt like a er. So after a few hours, I left because I didn't feel welcomed. So I can only hang with her when he's not around obviously.

I'm leaving for college in September and I'm afraid that if we don't spend more time together we will drift apart.

I realize that we are on different paths in life. I am single, entering my 2nd year of college. She's working a minimum wage job, with a boyfriend. We were both supposed to go to college, but she ended up staying home because she couldn't afford it. I think that put a big wedge between us. I'm afraid that we will be so different that we will have no reason to talk.

I try to make it work. I don't want to lose my best friend. But if things don't change I will sadly have to move on. We'll still be friends, but we won't talk as much and we will only see each other a few times a year. It hurts to think of it, but if she doesn't meet me halfway this is the only outcome.