Long distance relationships often scare timid couples away and consequently they break up, a lot of times too soon. Personally, I have quite a bit of experience with long distance relationships; I'm not saying I'm the absolute expert on all things long distance or even all things boy related but I'm here to show all the timid couples that it can work despite their fears.

My relationship began on July 23, 2016, complete with a cute poster asking me to be his girlfriend and everything. And now here I am one and a half years later. Honestly, that's exactly what this entire relationship has felt like, a complete and utter whirlwind, me and my boyfriend started dating less than a month before senior year started for both of us. We met in June, were dating by July, and attended different senior years at different high schools by August. I had no hope for it to even last a month into senior year, how would we possibly have time for each other?

But we did. It wasn't easy with playing sports, having jobs, hanging out with friends, and having to travel around forty minutes to each others' houses but it was manageable. We made it through all of senior year, attended each others' proms one weekend after another, and graduations, again one weekend after another.

We made it through a major death that happened in both of our lives on our one year anniversary but now, the challenge is even greater.

He attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and I attend Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana; not only are these schools rivals but they're also two whole hours apart from each other (or 111 miles if you were really curious). But, yet again we made it through the struggles of first semester, his fraternity pledgeship, my soul-searching, and his grueling hours of pre-pharmacy studying and homework. So, yeah long distance is scary and who knows what your significant other will really do a whole 111 miles away from you at a brand new college campus but at the same time having a long distance boyfriend is so rewarding.

Now I'm not in any way saying that long distance is easy, there are millions of times we'd have to cancel our weekend plans to visit one another because of a super hard test on Monday you had to spend the whole weekend studying for or homework assignments you just knew you wouldn't get done if you went along with the visit. There are times I see my friends with their boyfriends that go to school with them and they get to hang out whenever they want, at literally any time of the day. But my "hangouts" have to be scheduled in advance and strategically planned out.

It's hard.

BUT, embarking on your future on your own in a brand new place with brand new people is such a freeing feeling. Being my own person in a relationship has always been very important to me, being in a long distance relationship enables that in a way I'd never felt before. It sucks that I can't see him whenever I would like to, but it gives me more time for myself and more time to figure out who I am.

And it's really not that I couldn't do that with him here at IU with me (which is completely out of the question), it just really forces me to understand the importance of myself first. Plus, visits feel like holidays, they're so exciting and fun when you don't see each other every day or even every two weeks.

I understand all of the fears and nerves long-distance couples have because I've felt them all, but if your trust in each other and your bond are both strong there is no reason to break up or run away from each other just before college starts based on the irrational fears you have. Long distance is hard, FaceTime dates are necessary, and communication is key but in the end, it puts your relationship in a brand new perspective that really makes you feel like a new piece of the relationship altogether.