Long distance can be difficult no matter if it is an hour of distance or in my case, almost 2,000 miles. You learn so much about yourself and your relationship. Doing college with a boyfriend in the military can be difficult as most of your friends get to see their boyfriend almost every day. They get sad when their boyfriend goes home for the weekend and they don't get to see them because they are so used to being with them all the time. Distance will do one of two things to your relationship, it will strain it, or in my case, it will make you stronger than ever and make you realize how much you love your partner. Here are some ways you can handle and deal with the distance.

1. Set aside time every day to talk to one another

With my boyfriend being in the military, our time together is very valuable to the both of us. We try to set aside time every night to talk about each others days. This has been a huge strength to the both of us because it allows us to keep up with each other even when living across the country.

2. Be Intentional

On the occasion that we do not get to talk at the time we planned or the time we expected, we make sure to call each other for a quick 5 minutes. To let each other know we love each other. Be intentional with your time, the quick 5 minutes can go such a long way to someone.

3. Be patient and understanding

This is something that I personally struggled with for so long and I also learned that this is the most key point. Being understanding of my boyfriend's time is so important. Not all the time do our schedules add up to where we can talk all day every day, and things come up because of our different schedules. This is hard because when you hardly see each other, facetime is just about as good as it gets, its about as close as you can get to your partner. Therefore, that's all you want to do. And the days you can't do this, can suck. That's why all three of these points put together are so important.

You will learn an incredible amount about yourself. Such as sometimes simply just sitting on FaceTime with the presence of one another, without saying anything, can be a good feeling. But I can safely say the biggest thing I have learned in doing so much long distance over the last year is that I would never want to do life with anyone else. The distance makes us so appreciative for the time we do get to spend together and so grateful. I can safely and so confidently say that this year has changed me for the better and made me realized that if you love someone enough, the distance will never matter. You will miss them at every point of the day but look so forward to the times you get to talk or be together. You will find yourself realizing that you never thought you could love someone so much. And realizing that if you don't get to talk to your partner a lot that day, you might be sad because that's simply the best part of your day no matter how your day goes. Do not get me wrong, distance is incredibly difficult and if you do not love someone enough, then do not put yourself through it. BUT If you do love someone enough, you will be willing to do it all for that person, and it will be the best decision. So to my best friend and the love of my life, I love you more than anything Korey, and thank you for loving me so well from such a distance. See you soon. Xoxo.