Growing up and growing apart

I've been thinking a lot lately about growing up and how it goes hand in hand with growing apart. I know that I had heard this many times before, but I don't think that I thought that it applied to me and my friends. We would be the exception to the rule. It's sad how naive I was about the whole thing. Growing up does mean growing apart and it's a hard concept to grasp. Why is it so much harder to make time for friends when life gets slightly more busy? Why do we simply accept it and refuse to try and be the exception. It doesn't seem logical that the people who you once needed more than anything (and still need) are willing to let each other go. I've been thinking a lot about this since I decided to go to Australia. I've been holding on to my friends (although not nearly as tight as I used to) but I'm scared to death that when I get home, I won't have my friends...or that it will be different and I will be out of the loop. I'm not anything special and I'm afraid that they will let me go while I"m gone. This thought has been making me very sad the past couple of weeks. I'm not considering not going to Australia, because I really think that I'm meant to be there, but it just sucks that I'll be alone for 8 weeks. If I think that I'm lonely here, it'll be times 10 while I'm over there. I won't even be able to call Dave for a joke or Brea to vent or Fay to catch up b/c of the stupid time difference. I know that I'll be with people I know, and I'm bound to know them really well by the time I get back, but it won't be the same without my friends. I feel like I'm already homesick and I don't leave for 6 months. I won't know what's going on in the lives of everyone, like who's dating who, what people have been up to, etc. And what if someone gets sick or hurt while I'm over there. My friends depend on me too and I won't be able to be there for them either. I know that I'm overreacting a little, but the sad part is that I'm probably not overreacting that much. If we're growing apart this much and we're all still in the same area, it can only get worse. I know that God won't give me more than I can handle, but I'm feeling a little anxious right now. I constantly have a sinking feeling in my stomach and it's making it difficult for me to get to sleep at night. I've been crying myself to sleep and that's not something that I enjoy so much. But oh well, I'll make it through, and if my friends are reading this, just know that I won't forget about you, so try not to forget about me.