My best friend and I went our separate ways after college. We reconnect every year on a trip we call 'bestiecation.'

"Back in 2019, Sena cried the night before I left our university town because she was certain that our friendship was coming to an end. A few months later, when I visited her in Johannesburg, and she showed me around the business district and the corporate law firm where she would be working, with its skyscraper buildings, people dressed in designer clothes, and drivers of fancy cars, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach."

"I, too, was dreadfully afraid that our lives would move in different directions, and we'd lose our connection. While Sena had her corporate life perfectly mapped out, I didn't. But I knew what I didn't want: designer clothes, flashy cars, or a corporate job. Perhaps this fear of growing apart (that we both unknowingly harbored) is why we visited a travel agent on that very trip and planned our second vacation, one year later."

After graduating from college, two best friends pursued vastly different careers and lifestyles. Fearing they would grow apart, they established an annual vacation tradition to reconnect and maintain their friendship. One friend pursued corporate law in Johannesburg while the other chose a different path, creating initial anxiety about compatibility. Despite their contrasting lives and the challenges posed by circumstances like the 2020 pandemic, they committed to showing up for each other through regular travel together. This intentional practice of prioritizing their friendship has become a meaningful tradition that sustains their bond across geographical and professional distances.

Read at Business Insider