Most people that I talked to before going to college, to start my freshman year, said do not date anyone going to college. Now, me being me, I did not listen. I had met my current boyfriend, Parker, in late June and by the first week of July we had hit it off. In the back of my head, I thought, "hmmmm maybe this is not a good idea" but little did I know we would be doing the long-distance thing a month later. I know that it can be hard and a lot of work has to be put into the relationship on both ends but I hope all the girls going through this know that it will not be a forever situation.

If there is one thing that I have learned from being in a long distance relationship for a little over a year, it is that a relationship has to have the same amount of giving from both parties. The minute you start to notice that one person is giving more than the other is the time to sit down and evaluate what the relationship means to you both and if you are able to fix it or not. There have been times where the only option seems to be to give up but after realizing how much love and care I have for one person has shown me that some things are worth fighting for (as cheesy as that is). I have learned that nothing is perfect and eventually something would come along that would make all of our long distance hard work pay off.

I was right. Over the summer, after building the foundation of our relationship now that we were able to spend 3 solid months together, my boyfriends family got news that they would be moving down to Bloomington, IL. This was exciting news but I never have been good with change and this was definitely going to be different. This was finally our time to not be long distance anymore. He was going to be a quick 10-minute drive from me and I no longer would have to continuously have him drive down to visit me. That is A LOT of gas money! We have spent so much time preparing to be back to long distance for the next year but now have been given the opportunity to experience college together. I know people will have their opinions and say that we both need to be our own human beings, and I agree with that but we are both capable of being independent all the while being together and enjoying college with each other. In my opinion, life is much better when everyone important to you is in a 10-mile radius.

So girls, if you are struggling with being apart from the one you love, just know that eventually, you will not have to be miles away. To say you have done long distance and succeeded at doing long distance, shows how strong and how much you the relationship means to you both. It is a hard thing to keep afloat when the only way to constantly communicate is through a screen. That is why I am here to tell my story and show girls that things will change and you will not have to have the miles between you forever.