This fall, my boyfriend and I will be going to different colleges for a year, and we both want to make it work and have a long-distance relationship. Thinking about being six to seven hours apart gets kind of nerve-racking so I went to work on researching and asking friends who have made long-distance work for their best advice and these are their five best tips.

1) Always have something to look forward to.

This piece of advice means that we need to plan our visits. Having a countdown to when we can see each other next is so much better than having no idea when we can meet again.

2) Make each other a priority.

This one may be hard at times, but it was good to hear. We will both be freshmen in college studying engineering. This means that we will both be busy with school and other friends, but at the end of the day we need to remember each other and make time for Skyping or talking on the phone.

3) Do things with each other.

First, I was a little confused because I kept thinking about the distance. However, with all the technology we have we can stay connected and still have little dates! For example, we can watch the same movie at the same time and text about it. This is good for me, because he always has funny commentary and it makes me laugh which I know I will miss. Also, while going on a walk or eating in the dorm room we can Skype.

4) Be honest and open with one another.

This piece of advice is kind of self explanatory but needs to be said. To make this work we will need to trust each other which means being honest with each other. Also, being in a LDR we need to be open about things that may happen good or bad. For example, school work or a project may cause us to postpone a visit and we need to be open with each other about this.

5) Stay positive.

This is my absolute favorite one I heard. To keep this LDR working, we must remain positive. Negativity will show in our relationship, and hurt it. We can make it.