I’ve spent most of my time in college rolling my eyes at the couple holding hands…or desperately wishing that could be me. This is for everyone out there who is in a long distance relationship that’s just too good to let go of.
I’ve been dating my high school sweetheart for two and a half years now and let me tell you, it’s a lot harder than it looks. I took high school completely for granted; we would see each other practically every hour during passing period and even had two classes together. Our relationship was picture perfect, he was the football player and I was the cheerleader that happily wore his #35 jersey over my uniform every Friday. We would hang out almost everyday after school till late at night, until my mom would call me frantic wondering why I still wasn’t home. The convenient 5-minute drive to each other’s house seemed like a long haul and I remember I would ask him to pick me up because I was too lazy to drive…
Well now I’m in Des Moines and he’s in Iowa City... an hour and a half commute. Once college hit, I realized how lucky we truly had it. Like all of you long distance relationship-goers out there, you know it’s not easy. I hate those long and busy weeks at school that drag on, and then when Sunday hits, you’ve realized you have no idea what “bae” has been up to all week.
However, as much as I hate the distance between us… I’ve realized it’s truly a blessing in disguise.
ABILITY TO FIND YOURSELF
College is a time for individuals to grow into their complete selves and find exactly what they are looking for in their future careers. With beginning school completely on my own, it forced me to step out of my comfort zone. I was more motivated to be involved on campus and spend my weekdays extremely focused and driven with my schoolwork. I found other ways of spending my free time and in result, discovered new interests and hobbies.
As I am currently a sophomore looking back at my first year of college, I don’t think it would have been the same if I had my boyfriend with me. I probably would have done the bare-minimum during the weekdays to get by with school, and most likely would have abused our movie nights into an every night ordeal if we were conveniently on the same campus.
ESTABLISH EVERLASTING FRIENDSHIPS
Beginning college, I really had no intention whatsoever of joining a sorority. Although, knowing that I was interested in finding a lot of girls to spend my time with (since I was away from my boyfriend) had influenced my decision. I am so thankful to have found an amazing group of girls in my sorority, Alpha Phi.
I have been blessed to have a boyfriend who has had confidence and trust in our relationship to not be that “super clingy” guy who hates for me to have a social life. It’s nice to have had a handful of memorable nights with my girls and not have felt guilty ditching either them or my boyfriend.
It’s funny to think that if I weren’t in a long distance relationship, I most likely would have not have made a life changing decision like joining a sorority.
STRENGTHEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP
I have learned to love the idea of having school life and boyfriend life separate. With weeks apart at times, I always have something to look forward to when we reunite. Whenever we plan to see each other, we always have a fun date in mind and never have a dull moment. Our times together have turned into a stress reliever from school and a treat after some of those long, stressful school weeks.
It’s hard to believe… but the separation in our relationship has strengthened our confidence, trust, and appreciation for each other in infinite ways.
JUST REMEMBER…
For those of you that have found similarities through reading this…I hope it brought you some relief. It’s great to know I have become my own person and have continued an amazing relationship throughout these confusing years of college.
Don’t let those haters get you down...you don’t need to “live the single life” or date someone at your school to pave your way through college! If you’re happy and content with what you have, keep it that way.
So whenever you’re missing your “bae”…just remember there is a reason you’re still holding on and it will all be worth it in the end.
