There are so many obvious answers. Maybe you learn how to use Photoshop, or how to solve equations. We all memorize bus schedules, street names and the routes we traverse to class each day; we take note of where the closest dining hall, printer or bike rack is. We store countless pieces of information in our brains.

But what do we actually learn?

We learn to grow up, and most importantly, apart. College is all about distance. It’s overwhelming. We’re counting the miles, and trying to remember to stay in touch. High school certainly did not prepare us for long distance.

The distance can be isolating, and it is always hard.

There is no lack of students who can relate to this. The stretch of land — or ocean — seems difficult to overcome. There are shorter distances. There’s an eclectic mix of in-state, out-of-state and international students. There are even East Lansing or Lansing students who chose a university that’s right in their backyard. For me, it’s just more an hour to get to my family, and more than that, to see my friends. Already, it has proven to be a struggle to meet up with old friends, and the general feeling is that no one, not even myself, has time.

In college, you get used to putting things on the back burner.

These days, it’s easy to keep in touch using a number of mediums. With social media, Skype, cell phones, texting, email, postcards or even hand-written letters, it’s definitely possible to reach out. It’s the effort that gets people.

Even though it’s as easy as sending out a quick text to check in with the people you don’t have the luxury of being with physically, sometimes we all fail at delegating a few minutes of our time to do it. Maybe you’re just a born procrastinator, like me. Or maybe you are reluctant to do it because it’s a painful reminder of exactly how much you miss someone. Either way, we pick an excuse and run with it.

I’m guilty of a lack of communication with people back home. And if you don’t realize how someone feels when you neglect that line of communication, just wait until someone forgets to stay in touch with you.

I have four sisters. They are the only family I have left, and we’ve ended up scattered across the country. There are two of us in Anchorage, Ala., one in San Francisco and two here in Michigan.

We all text pretty frequently and try to come together once every year or two. I’m not going to lie, it’s terrible. It’s like a phantom limb. There are times when I almost walk into a room to tell one of them something before I remember they’re more than 3,000 miles away.

When it comes to situations like this, the only thing you can do is get used to it and put in an effort to stay in touch.

That’s the only remedy that I can recommend to everyone, and it works. It’s hard when you hang up the phone and you feel a weird, lingering sadness settles over you — I’ve felt it, too.

But I’ve also realized that even though distance isn’t always optional, staying in touch is. Whether or not you keep up communication over the distance is your choice.