When I was a junior in high school I had a boyfriend who I really thought I loved. I was convinced that he was going to be my high school sweetheart and we were going to be together forever.

Even so, I always worried about the day I would have to leave for college and about all of the opportunities to date college guys if I decided to stay with him.

Alas, fate stepped in and we broke up and I was single for the last two years of high school until I met my current boyfriend. I knew on our first date that this was going to be something different than any kind of love that I had experienced before.

We had dated for 6 months before it was time for me to move into my college dorm, and there was not even the slightest of a notion that I was going to love anyone more than him, dating someone else was the last thing on my mind. The worry that I would be missing out on something was completely gone.

I was told a million times before I left that I wouldn't want to be in a relationship with someone from home when I went away to school. They told me it was impossible, and that I would be missing out on opportunities to date new kinds of people.

Long distance relationships are hard, and even though we were only two hours away from each other, it would be a change from the 20 minutes that had separated us before.

I knew it was going to be hard on us, and even though it's only been a few months, the strain it can sometimes put on our relationship is unmistakable. But even at our worst, I have never doubted my love for him or his love for me.

I have yet to regret my decision to stay in my hometown relationship because no one will ever understand me here like he can. He knows me better than I know myself at times, and the way he has helped me through one of the hardest adjustments I've ever made in my life is something I can never repay.

He supports me through everything, he is my comfort in the hell that I experience every day with not being home and missing my family. He is my shoulder to cry on over all of the stress, and my one and only best friend.

I couldn't imagine not having him in my corner as I navigate through this very new environment around me. Although the term is quite overused, he is my rock. Had it not been for him and the support of both of our families I wouldn't be as confident as I am in the world of exams and two hundred dollar textbooks.

We still have a long way to go, but I have faith in both he and I, and in our commitment to one another. I know that if we can stay together for four of the hardest years of my life, everything else life has to throw at us will have a harder time getting to us.