Long distance relationships are difficult but mine is completely worth it because:

1. Distance has taught us to communicate really well. When you only get one or two phone calls a week, you learn how to make the most of them.

2. We've gotten to spend time together in a lot of different contexts. Every visit has us in some new place, with family, with friends, with family friends. We never quite know what to expect from our visits, so we've learned to adapt to our surroundings.

3. We understand each other more. In situations where I might be tempted to just hold in thoughts or emotions, I've learned to be open and honest with him, because he probably won't pick up that I'm sad just because I didn't use any punctuation in my text.

This isn't supposed to be a listicle, but I could definitely come up with a lot more reasons: it's built trust, we've gotten to spend a lot of time with each other's families, we've learned our favorite activities, we get to explore a lot of new places, we know how to make the most out of time, we've learned a lot of patience, we get a lot of time to talk things through and think things through, etc. But, I'm a poetry writer, so instead of listing more reasons I'm just going to write a poem.

When I am overcome by love for you—
love potion style—
head over heals, giggling style—
I forget to write poetry.

On our best days,
you turn me into poems
and teach me "beautiful."

On my worst,
you hold me against your chest
and tell me to cry
until I am finished.

Then,
you make me laugh.