Six hundred thirty-seven miles.

Nine hours and forty-six minutes.

Five states separate us.

There is such a stigma behind long distance relationships, and I’m guilty of being one who truly did not believe in them. So often we see the reunion videos on the internet that may or may not make me cry while laying in bed at night and consider them a rarity. Preparing to leave for college, I found myself shutting the door on relationships after assuming they would never last. I disregarded the idea of video chatting, texting, letters and phone calls and just expected to be cut off from everyone as I moved 11 hours away.

I guess it just took someone special for me to restore my faith in long distance relationships.

I’m in a long distance relationship with my best friend, and it’s working just fine.

My best friend goes to College of Charleston, which is exactly 637 miles away from my dorm. That is extremely far away to be from someone with whom you used to do absolutely everything. She was the one who’d go to get fries with me in the middle of the night, would eat an entire ice cream cake with me, has a family who I consider family and is the one who’d have awkward photo shoots with me on the beach and then give suggestions for good Instagram captions afterwards.

Going to college, I was genuinely worried about our friendship and how we were going to make it work. If there was anyone back home who I wanted to stay close with, it was her. There was the little voice in the back of my head telling me we wouldn’t be able to make it work. To my surprise, she’s still the one I go to for everything.

All of those tips and tricks you read online about how to make a long distance relationship work can’t help unless there are two people who truly want to make it work. Alex, my best friend, and I talk every single day. I know what is going on in her life, and she knows what is going on in mine. When we reunite, it feels like we were never separated.

This article is for the high school seniors beginning to pack up their clothes, buy their bedding that matches their future roommate’s, and plan their last lunch dates with their friends before they move away for college. Take a step back before you rush into this new chapter of life and consider who got you to this point in your life. This person could be a best friend, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or a teammate.

Don’t let this exciting moment allow you to throw them on the back burner because chances are you will be able to salvage any relationship that is influential and crucial to your life.

Alex, thank you for showing me true friendship from states away. Thank you for answering the phone at the late hours of the night, and thank you for proving to me that distance means nothing when someone means everything to you. I’m happy to say that we are a success story for long distance relationships, and I encourage everyone to not give up on their “person” either.