For many, opinions on long-distance relationships are often skeptical, and even unkind. The mere idea of dating someone who lives farther away than a convenient distance of a few minutes to an hour deeply conflicts with an ingrained belief that the ideal partner is someone who goes to the same school, works in the same building, or lives in the same city. But for some, myself included, our significant others did not turn out to live as close to us as we would have liked, instead living a considerable distance away that proves very difficult in seeing each other face-to-face. In spite of the difficult setback of not being able to see our S.O. as often as other couples, it's nothing that patience, dedication, and love can't fix.

I'll start by saying that in the years before I entered my current long-distance relationship, I too, doubted the concept of dating someone who lived a considerable distance away. How would one know if the other person was cheating on them? Wouldn't it be too difficult not being able to spend time together face-to-face? Could a relationship exist with most if not all interactions done through technology? These sorts of questions filled my mind and I was beyond perplexed when I learned that some of my friends were in long-distance relationships. My confusion soon turned into genuine interest when I saw that their relationships, more or less, were just as healthy and lasted just as long as any other relationship.

Fast forward to this year where I am now in a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend Kai. While I live in Maryland, she lives in Florida, a discouraging 16-hour drive or 3-hour flight away. Developing feelings for each other in the months before we officially started dating, my first trip to see her earlier this year in July marked the beginning of our relationship when we confessed these feelings in person. Since then, I will admit that it has been nothing short of very difficult—being so far away from the one you love. The questions I had when I was younger began to come to mind. What if the lack of in-person interaction led to an eventual rift between us? What if the distance caused one of us to lose interest in the other? Was it possible for us to stay in a healthy relationship with minimal visits?

But as I said earlier, it's nothing that patience, dedication, and love couldn't fix. From the time between my first and second visit, five months, we stayed in contact through the aid of texts and phone/skype calls. We sent gifts back and forth and even wrote letters as a more intimate way of communicating. We were vocal about our feelings, our doubts, our concerns, and were always honest and transparent with each other, just how any couple should be. Soon the doubts and fears began to slip away and even though we lived so far apart, I had nothing but total faith in her commitment to me and she was proud to say the same for me. When we met again this past week in December, we were both overjoyed to discover that nothing had changed between us, except the fact that our love for the other had grown ten-fold since July.

Regardless if it's long-distance or short-distance, it takes time and effort from both (or more) parties to ensure a healthy and happy relationship. Certain fears and concerns that some have for long-distance relationships can just as easily be applied for short-distance relationships as well. Perhaps the only real challenge that long-distance relationships offer is the difficulty is the physical distance between them. But love, love is a powerful thing—something that transcends all else. If it is true, if it is genuine, and if it's in the hearts of all those involved, it will find a way.