Students come to Auburn from all over the United States and the world. Sometimes maintaining long-distance romantic and platonic relationships with those back home takes a toll.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, families provide members with a sense of belonging and a distinctive identity. Families are typically a source of emotional support, comfort, and security to each member; this is why maintaining a close bond with one's family is crucial to individual growth in young adult years.
"I try to call my family at least once a week," said Kaitlyn Hof-Mahoney, senior in history. "My grandmother will look out for me and text me when there is bad weather and I typically get a lot of care packages from her as well."
Hof-Mahoney said she keeps close ties with her family even though she is several hours away from their Stuart, Florida home.
Connor Romanelli, sophomore in business, also said he talks to his family a great deal, though he also tries to build close relationships with his college peers.
"It's just as important to find people here that you are just as close with," Romanelli said. "They will become your family away from your family."
Long distance friendships are also important to sustain, but can become a more complex task than just picking up the phone according to The Huffington Post. When dealing with friends your own age, their lives are often constantly changing, unlike the family always waiting at home. Long distance friendship requires constant attention, similar to that of a significant other.
"I Snapchat a lot of my old friends and I try to text my really close friends at least twice a week," said Taylor Mollere, freshman in undeclared science and mathematics.
Mollere is from Miami and said she rarely gets to see her old friends.
Eric Turner, sophomore in aerospace engineering, said he also uses social media to stay in touch.
"Social media is always fun and occasionally calling, but FaceTiming is what is really fun and a great way to keep up with each other," Turner said.
Some students use breaks to see their long-distance friends, and are planning special events to catch up.
"When we were in high school, we used to have Christmas parties every year," said Sami Bustos, senior in microbial, cellular and molecular biology, who is originally from the Bay Area in California. "We are having one again this year for the first time in four years. I am so excited to see what's up with all my old friends, one is married now and another one is finally coming home from studying abroad in Italy."
Some students, such as Matt McCutcheon, freshman in business, have a long distance relationship with a significant other.
CBS News reported up to 75 percent of college students are in a long-distance relationship at some point, making it something that affects large numbers of students.
"I went to prep school in Maine last year so we were always separated by a 3.5 hour drive even then," McCutcheon.said.
McCutcheon is originally from Boston, where his girlfriend still lives.
"She has been able to come down two times during this football season, but it's the time in between that is hard," McCutcheon said. "FaceTime, Skype, texting, phone calls, and really expensive plane tickets is the only way to make it work."
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