When I was a sophomore in high-school, I began a relationship with a senior. We got serious pretty fast and fell in love in a very short amount of time. Before he met me, he had applied to a college, only one. This college just so happened to be on the other side of the country. He got accepted.
In August, we had been dating for almost a year when he had to pack up his things and make the trip from Illinois to Arizona. After saying good-bye to him the day he left, I didn't leave my room and didn't stop crying for a few days.
At the start of my junior year, we had officially begun a long-distance relationship; one that spanned almost 2,000 miles. Every day was a struggle. Even though we texted pretty much all the time, I missed his presence. It just wasn't the same. Everybody thought we were crazy for trying it. Sometimes I thought we were crazy, too. A lot of people tried giving me advice by saying that it would get easier. Let me tell you that IT DOES NOT GET EASIER. I spent so much time throughout my junior year sheltered in my room crying because I only wanted him, not my friends or family. We would try to FaceTime but it would only result in me bawling my eyes out and him feeling terrible that he couldn't do anything to stop it. Seeing him made me want him more because he was so close, but I couldn't touch him.
Whenever he would come home, I would be one of the first people there to see him. It was just like we had never been apart and everything was great. The days that he would be getting prepared to leave again, I would cry around him all the time. Almost every night ended up with him comforting me because I didn't want him to leave. It felt like I was just getting him back before he was once again heading to Arizona. We dated for almost three years before we finally decided to break up.
So many people romanticize long-distance relationships when they don't actually understand how much heartbreak comes with them. Honestly, the entire relationship took such a huge toll on my emotional state. I thought about him constantly. I cried almost every day he was gone. But if I could go back, I would do it all over again. Although it was an extremely difficult time for me, I couldn't have been happier when I was with him.The good times I got to spend with him greatly overrode the bad times.
My overall point here is don't be afraid to try it. Just because somebody you love is moving away, that doesn't mean that you can't be a part of their life anymore. When you are in love with somebody, it doesn't matter how far away they are. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it feels like a piece of you is missing every time they're gone. But it's definitely worth a shot because they might just be worth it.
