I have been a in a long distance relationship for the past 11 months with my wonderful boyfriend, Oscar. We live two hours apart from each other. The distance is not that far, but it sucks especially when we both wish we could just be with each other in person.

As we approach this year of dating and being together, I want to honor our relationship by sharing with others the many benefits and disadvantages of being in a long distance relationship and how it can ultimately work out in the end.

There are many benefits from being in a long distance relationship. I am able to have the freedom to learn things about myself that I never knew before. For instance, I used to always want to go places with friends and that would be the only reason why I would ever go out. Now I get to enjoy myself and go on random adventures, discovering new coffee shops around town and reading a book, getting more time to do things just for me.

I am able to time manage better, especially when it comes to work and school.I have a ton of classwork and I work as much as I possibly can. Fortunately, since my boyfriend lives two hours away I able to spend more time studying for exams and working extra shifts at work. I know if he lived nearby I probably would not be studying or taking the extra shifts at work just to spend some extra time with him. I treasure the moments I spend with him and the adventures we take to the beach and discovering new restaurants, and I know that I would sacrifice the time I could be devoting to schoolwork and getting paid just to make more memories with him.

I also have the benefit of making my own life in a city. I am learning to become an adult on my own. Yes, my boyfriend is still there to listen and give me advice when I need it, but instead of depending on him for some things I am learning independence and how to make it on my own. It is important for me to learn how to do things on my own without my parents or my boyfriend to make me feel safe and protected because I need to be able to be comfortable to make my own decisions on a whim without anyone around. If I ultimately make bad decisions, I am able to learn from them, that way I know the next time I encounter a similar situation.

However, even with the many perks of being in a long distance relationship, there are many disadvantages as well. I do not have the time to drive to see my boyfriend every week. So, we have to make scheduled dates to see each other on the weekends every 3 weeks or even a full month. Even though he is close enough for me to drive and visit him I have many priorities to put before him and our relationship because of the distance. I cannot leave to visit him because I need to study or do homework or even go to work and cover a shift. During these times I wish he was closer, just so I could spend 30 minutes out of my day to see him face to face (and let me tell you that skype calls are definitely not the same thing then talking to your significant other face to face).

Also, when we argue or get in a fight, the distance becomes worst.I want to see him and apologize and do a romantic gesture and show him that I still love him and care for him but I cannot because of priorities mentioned before. My life is in a completely different city from his and there are times when I wish things were different and we lived in the same city and went to the same university.

Overall, the main disadvantage is not having him there by my side to learn and grow and have incredible adventures with him. I know it takes away from the perk of being able to be independent and being comfortable to do things by myself, but sometimes I just wish he was with me because I just simply miss being with him.

My relationship with my boyfriend has definitely been trying and hard but we ultimately made it work. He is my best friend and there is no one who has ever been more understanding or loving to me. I know there are times where he is not there and when things seem as if it might not work out, but we both constantly try to communicate and show how much we care for one another. We call each other every day and talk on the phone or through skype just to see how our days were.

It sucks being apart from one another but it has worked out for us and I only hope that if you’re going through the same situation that you can make it work as well. A long distance relationship is difficult but the benefit of being able to spend time with each other seldom as it may be outweighs the disappointment of not being able to be with each other as we live our lives apart.