Why Long Distance Sucks, and Why I'm Doing It Again

It’s no secret that long distance relationships are terrible, because if you’re like me and you’re in one, everyone makes it clear to you that it’s super hard to do. On top of that, most people act like you’re just begging to hear their opinion on whether or not it’s a good idea (hint: no one in a LDR wants to know if you think it’ll work or not- we’ve heard it before).

Many times being in a long distance relationship is terrible. Each morning you wake up wishing your person was right next to you, instead of hundreds of miles away. You spend your day holding onto every text you get from them, whether it be them giving you a compliment, or them complaining about the class they have, or even just a simple smiley face. Each night you play phone tag calling back and forth and leaving messages, or trying to fit a Skype date into your busy schedules. For most people, long distance doesn’t work, especially in college. A new environment, new people, and figuring out who you are just doesn’t lend itself to a working relationship from hours apart. I’ve been there and done that and much to my dismay at the time, the statistics won. My relationship did not withstand the distance. It hurt, much more than I’d like to admit and I swore I would never do it again. I promised myself I’d never put myself in that situation again. But despite what I said, I broke all those promises to myself and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because the person I'm doing it with is worth it.

Yes, long distance is hard. It is one of the biggest challenges about college and although it would be so much easier to just throw in the towel and say “forget it”, that’s not what the heart wants.

Even though each interaction is texts, phone calls, and Skype dates, it’s exactly those things that makes each day apart bearable. It is the days when nothing goes right and it seems as though you’ll never have a day as bad as this one when your significant other texts you saying “want to Skype a little later?” or seeing them write a cheesy tweet that says "Missing this girl so much!" with a picture of you attached. It’s the hours spent on the phone, or texting hearing about each other’s classes, friends, and experiences at school. It’s the numerous movies watched simultaneously on Netflix while Skyping, just to feel like you’re having a date with the person you care so much about.

A phrase that is so commonly used when people talk about long distance is “Together forever, never apart. Maybe in miles but never at heart,” and as cheesy as that is, I think it is one of the best statements of a long distance relationship. You and your person might be 30 miles apart or you might be 300 miles apart, but no matter what you feel connected and close together. Even from 164 miles away, I know my boyfriend and I still feel close at heart like we did when we were sitting side by side watching "The Office" in his basement. It’s the small things that make the torture of being apart so much easier.

A long distance relationship is not for the faint of heart, but for two people who want to make it work and truly care about each other, it can be done. Nothing is impossible when it comes to matters of the heart.