That girl was me, that boy was my boyfriend of the last six years. The last four out of the six years we've been together have been long distance which, if I'm being completely honest, is hard and sometimes exhausting. Long distance relationships require a lot of dedication, commitment, and patience. Yes, these are all things that are required in a relationship in general but they are extremely important in a long distance relationship. The distance sucks; a lot. But if you do it right, it can be good too.

You'll learn things about yourself, about your partner, and about life that you might not learn if you were together constantly. You'll learn to cherish the little things more instead of just taking them for granted. Something as simple as a minute long phone call will mean more to you and make your day so much better. You'll learn how important communication is because when things get challenging or you aren’t on very good terms, you'll have to be able communicate with one another to resolve the problem together.

You'll get to know yourself really well. You'll know what you like and what you don’t and you develop a sense of independence. When you and your partner are reunited, you'll know yourself. You won't be defined by your relationship or what you think you might like. You'll have a solid sense of self and I think that’s really important.

It's also important to remember that the distance doesn't matter. While it can hurt a lot at times what matters is the connection that you share, not how far apart you are. Long distance relationships are hard but those that survive them are meant to be. Long distance is a choice. It’s a commitment to say I love you more than all of the distance between us. When done right distance will strengthen you and your relationship if you let it.

I know all this because that is how my relationship has been for the last four years. Each time we see each other its special and not just because we're one step closer to the end of the distance. It's special because we appreciate the time we get to spend together more than we did when we saw each other everyday. We appreciate each other more and we appreciate what we have.

And I must have done something really right to deserve having my boyfriend in my life. What we have is special and even though it is hard, I wouldn't trade it for the world.