Starting college, I was in a serious relationship with my boyfriend of a year. Long-distance dating was a factor in why we broke up, but it wasn’t the main reason.

I never thought that I would start college with a boyfriend, I never believed in long-distance dating, but I was so in love with my boyfriend at the time that I wanted to be with him no matter what.

Some couples are strong enough to handle the pressure of long-distance dating, but my relationship wasn't. Here are eight pros and cons of long-distance dating that I encountered when college started.

Pros:

1. Freedom- It’s healthy to get some space from your significant other sometimes. You get to have freedom to find yourself and meet new people.

2. Focus- Sometimes having a significant other around all the time can be distracting. Long distance relationships allow you to focus on school, work, etc.

3. Travel- Being away from your significant other can be hard, so you’ll both travel a lot to see each other. This can mean going to your hometown more often than you normally would or traveling to new places to see your person.

4. Friendship- When you are in a relationship, you tend to spend most of your time with your significant other. If you are in a long-distance relationship, it gives you more time to strengthen your friendships with other people.

Cons:

5. Loneliness- It can be hard to be away from the love of your life for so long. There’s a void that sometimes can’t be filled by just a friend.

6. Fighting- You may fight more with your significant other, because you won’t be prioritizing your relationship as much.

7. Priority- Like I said above, long-distance can be hard because you both are focusing on other things. You aren’t always around each other, so you don’t prioritize each other as much.

8. Cheating/Lying- Depends on the person, but long-distance gives the opportunity for people to lie or cheat. They may believe that their partner won’t find out since they don’t live in the same place.