I entered a long distance relationship right out of high school and have now been in one for four amazing years. At first, I was afraid, nervous, and a bit worried. I knew It was going to be tough, but what I didn't know was how much it would positively impact our relationship.

1. I not only appreciate the relationship, I truly appreciate you

It’s true. You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone. Lucky for me, you aren’t gone, you’re just far. I appreciate you more then you will ever know. I appreciate the way you laugh at all my jokes, and how you reassure me that things will always be okay. I appreciate when you drive because I’m scared of the snow, and the way you bring me water to the gym when I forgot mine at home. I appreciate you taking me to the movies and buying me the biggest popcorn there is, and answering my 100 questions while the movie is on. I appreciate you randomly buying me candy, and not questioning how I ate it all in 10 minutes. I appreciate you more then you know. I appreciate you when you are next to me, and I appreciate you when you are a million miles away.

2. We both have grown independent, yet still lean on one another.

One of the worst things you can have in a relationship is having an imbalance of who is independent. Trust me; I do not like being away from you. But distance has truthfully given us the time to grow as a person instead of just a couple. We have grown into individuals and know our strengths and weaknesses. We have had the time to work on ourselves and accomplish individual goals and we have had the opportunity to be proud of ourselves and proud of one another. We have learned the importance of celebrating one another’s success and supporting one another through failures. We know we are capable of standing alone, but we know we would much rather stand together. How’s that for a power team? (PS- Being independent doesn’t mean I mind when you kill the spiders.)

3. I have learned that missing someone is healthy.

I am not going to lie, missing you hurts. Sure, it isn’t fun to miss you…but it is healthy. I can’t count how many times I have been asked… “How do you do it?” and truth is; the question should never be how do I do it, but it should be why in the world wouldn’t I do it? Missing you is another reason of why distance has shown me how much you mean to me. Missing you makes me remember what I am waiting for. Missing you makes me realize how amazing you are. Missing you is healthy, missing you is normal, missing you is how I am supposed to feel! SO yeah, I miss you, and I am happy I do.

4. I have realized you aren’t going anywhere.

No matter how far you’ve been at times, you have never left my side. After all of the struggles, and silly fights due to distance…. you keep coming back. No matter how far you travel, you always make sure to make it back home to me. No matter what comes up, you make us work. No matter how many weekends you work or how many days I work late, you have the ability of making me feel like you are always right there with me. I might have days where I just wish you were home, and I wish you didn’t have to live so far away… but I know deep down you will be coming back to me.

5. You showed me how far your love can travel.

It amazes me how my love for you grows every single day regardless of the distance between us. I find the love you have for me a magical thing. I feel lucky to be loved and to love so deeply that even thousands of miles can’t interfere with what we have. I am amazed that I have learned so much more about you and taught you more about myself and you have continued to push me to open up even more. Your love is something I feel every day, all the time. Your love is strong, sincere, and inspiring. The fact that you make me blush from a million miles away is crazy, but this love is crazy; & I am crazy for you.

6. Emotions tend to fall the hardest on paper.

I have learned so much about you. Since time isn’t spent on physicality all of the time, It is an amazing experience of building such a strong emotional and mental relationship. In you, I have truly found my best friend. I have broken down to you and showed you the depth behind me. You have seen my weakest moments and loved me through them. We have gotten into arguments and weren’t capable of hugging it out. Our arguments must be settled by words and raw emotion; & it has taught me so much about you. We have had to show our entire self, and the more I find out about you, the more I fall for you.

7. I now know that romance doesn’t have to be in person.

When people think of romance, they think of physical contributions to the relationship. That isn’t romance. Romance is finding ways to make one another smile no matter how hard that is. Romance is about finding the little things and doing them just to see the other happy. Romance is about respecting one another’s interests and supporting them even when they don’t make sense. Romance through distance may seem difficult but It truly doesn’t have to be, and you made that clear to me. I find it romantic when I send him a package of his favorite groceries. I find it romantic when he sends me things that he hears me talking about nonstop. It’s so romantic when we set up time to face time and talk about our days. I find it romantic when he takes time to read all of my article I post to Odyssey. I love romance, and I am the normal girl who blushes when it happens. But I now know what romance is, and I am blessed with all of the romance he brings to my life.

8. Feeling stronger

I never knew that I would be able to do long distance. I never thought I could handle it emotionally and/or mentally. Distance in our relationship has not created strength, but it brought it out deep down inside of me. I have found such strength that has allowed me to grow into the person I am becoming. This strength has given me a clear path of who I am. This strength has given me not only the power to stay strong during our time apart, but it has also give me the strength to love myself, and to love you with all of my heart.

9. I have truly gotten to know my best friend.

When you can’t be together physically, you better bet that we try our best to talk all of the time. People may wonder what we talk about and the honest truth is: Everything. We talk about our days, and we talk about our future. We talk about our past, and we confront everything that is on our mind. We talk about our dreams, and we discuss our success. We admit to our failure, and apologize for our mistakes. We give play by plays to certain situations and we have more inside jokes than. I can simply say one word through a text and he knows exactly what I am talking about. You have become my go to, my best friend, my side kick. When something happens, I want to tell you first. When I have a bad day, I call you first. Communication is key in a relationship, and distance has given us the best there is. It has also made me learn that my boyfriend and best friend are all in one!

10. The days we do have are better than any days I could imagine with anyone else.

Distance has made it clear that no one else can make me feel the things you make me feel. It has created a sense of appreciation for all that you are. The days we have together, are the days that make up for any days apart. Do I want distance to be all that we ever have? Of course not. But I truly believe it has built such an incredible foundation for the days we will one day have beside one another. It has made me truly grasp on how much you mean to me, and how much this relationship means to us both. Could I have a simpler relationship? Probably. That’s the thing though, I don’t want simple. I don’t want crazy. I don’t want or need anything specific in a relationship. Sure, we aren’t in the “Perfect” situation… but what in the world is the perfect situation anyways. All I know is in my relationship, I need is you. And everything else is just the environment we will deal with when it comes.

“One Day; Sweet Day; Our Lips Will Meet Again; Till then, I Will Kiss You With My Words.”