If the person you love and the person that loves you are in close proximity to one another, never ever take that for granted.

There comes a time where every couple must separate from one another, regardless of whether it's for a few hours or a few months, or even longer than that. I knew that as the days grew closer, leaving my significant other was possibly going to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life. And I was right; when the day finally came, there were many smiles and laughs but also many tears. It was the happiest and the most saddening moments of my life. I've never felt so confident in one another and my relationship as a whole, and also more terrified of what the future has in store for the both of us.

Sure, maintaining a long-distance relationship is definitely a lot more difficult than maintaining a short-distance relationship. You aren't able to see each other every day and you need to rely heavily on social media, the internet, and sending letters and packages back and forth to one another. Communication is key in these types of relationships, and although it requires a lot of work, these relationships are the most rewarding of them all.

When I left for my freshman year of college back in August, I knew that it was going to be hard. However, what I didn't know was how much loving a person 700 miles away could possibly teach me. It is so, so easy to give up on someone 700 miles away. And I had a lot of time to sit down and really think about this while I was away from home. It would be easy to give up on something so difficult and challenging, and just forget about it and move on. Right?

Wrong. Of course, there were times where it felt impossible to go on when two people who are trying to make a relationship work are so far away. There were times when communication was so poor and we were on completely different pages. There were times where I just wanted to just give up and meet new people and move on. But I didn't - I kept on and persevered through the good and the bad. Because you'd want someone to do the same for you, correct?

Being in a former short-distance relationship made the transition to a long-distance relationship extremely rough on the both of us. But somehow, the kinks worked themselves out and we are now stronger than ever. Just being away from each other for a few short months has taught us both a lot. It taught us not to give up when the sparks are all gone and when things get ugly - simply because you'd want someone to be with you through the ugly too. Love is a commitment that needs constant maintenance and improvement in order to flourish, and although the initial transition was rocky, when everything finally settled down, things were beautiful.

The most important thing to remember is to have good, healthy communication and making sure you're both on the same page. Call and FaceTime every once in a while. Ask them how their day is going, and send them a little surprise care package. Because, even though you both might be miles away from one another, the goal is to try and live your lives together regardless of the distance. That, I feel like, is what makes doing long-distance so difficult. People feel that they're going abut their lives with their other halves and vice versa. But it doesn't always have to be this way. Plenty of people make long distance work for them every single day. It's just about finding the right strategies and communication in order to make everything work out the way it's supposed to. And just make sure you do not give up when things turn ugly.