If you’re wondering if being in a long distance relationship is worth it, the answer is yes! Relationships are tough to begin with. Throw in a few hundred miles and the challenges seem all the more prominent, but a long distance relationship IS possible, and in my case, definitely worth the hours of travel and a paycheck or two on transportation. After all, a long distance relationship is just loving your significant other from a farther distance away, and for me, I would never give mine up.
My first long distance relationship ended in disaster. Upon realizing that my next (and current) relationship would also involve the burden of being long distance, I couldn't help but be nervous. No one wants to make the same mistakes twice, not to mention I was well aware of the pains of being in love with someone who's more than an arm's length away. However, my current relationship had one major difference: history. My current boyfriend and I have a relationship founded on friendship- four years worth of friendship, to be exact. As I began to realize that our friendship endured the struggle of being long distance, my doubts about a long distance relationship began to shrink.
For me, the amount of miles is just a number. I live exactly 629 miles away from my boyfriend, but that distance doesn't even begin to compare to the amount of love and happiness I feel when I'm with him. Obviously, living near your significant other is more ideal and convenient, but long distance isn’t as impossible as everyone makes it out to be. If you and your significant other put in the same amount of effort and care into the relationship, it will work. I’ll be honest, it isn’t always smooth sailing, there will be ups and downs. But, the ups are what make the relationship always worth it. My worst times in my relationship take place at the airport, and that's only because I’m sad to be leaving him. However, I know that a month from that moment I will be experiencing the best type of adrenaline and happiness in the airport when I get to reunite with him (we make a point to see each other every month). That moment when I see him after only talking through Facetime or over the phone wipes out the sadness I had felt waiting to see him, because seeing him after waiting for so long is always 100 percent worth it.
Being in my long distance relationship has also made me perfect the art of communication. I now know how important it really is to express how I’m feeling or talk extensively about my day and let off steam. This has shown me that keeping my emotions all bottled up isn’t healthy for myself or my boyfriend, and since we aren’t with each other 24/7 it forces me to open up more which has been incredible in my growth as a young woman. Even when those are days of missing your boyfriend or girlfriend are too painful for words, you know that they’re just as committed as you are because they are putting themselves through it too. I feel more secure and sure in my long distance relationship than I felt in any of my previous relationships that weren’t long distance because I was constantly worrying about whether the other person was just as invested as I was.
Since I had already been in a long distance relationship, I knew what I needed to do to make it work. For the guys and girls who are in their first long distance relationship, I've come up with a few helpful points to make it a little easier. First off, both parties need to put in the same amount of effort. Whether it comes to agreeing when to video chat, pick out dates to visit, or both promising to send good morning texts, each person needs to do the same amount of work. Second, don't dwell so much on the distance. Yes, I know, it's a pain in the butt. If you are so focused on how far away from each other you are you won't be able to 100 percent focus on all of the positive aspects of your relationship. Finally, never fight over text. I think everyone everywhere can agree that fighting over text is the worst decision you can make. Every single text can get miscommunicated and your partner can read it all out of context which can cause an even bigger fight. Before you two get serious make a pact to always call or video chat when you're in disagreement about anything. Trust me, this will help you out so much in the long run.
Being able to maintain a healthy and strong long distance relationship has shown me things about myself I never knew before. Being given this type of love is the greatest gift I’ve ever gotten and I wouldn’t change anything about it.
