After a year-and-a-half of being in a long distance relationship (LDR) and seeing a lot of friends in long distance relationships, I’ve seen what it takes to keep one going. It’s not easy when all of your friends are with their significant other every day and the closest you get is Skype. There are some days you just want to call it quits, but in the end, the distance will only make your relationship stronger. These characteristics are essential to a LDR and help support you during the months without your significant other.

1. Stubbornness

I know what you're thinking, how is stubbornness a good thing in any relationship, but being stubborn is essential to LDRs. Being apart from your significant other is going to be difficult. There is no doubt about that. You have to be stubborn in your ways when it comes to those difficult times and know that giving up isn't an option. If you gave up at the first sign of difficulties, you would break up after the first instance of missing them. LDRs aren't for the weak in the respect that you need to know when the relationship is worth the fight and when it's not.

2. Trust

Without trust in any relationship, it will fall apart. Trust is one of the main values that a relationship stands on, but especially in a LDR. You have to trust your significant other to hang out with new friends, go to parties and to be faithful to you. If you are constantly worried about what your significant other is doing because you don't trust them around the opposite gender or even to go on a night out, the relationship will fail. You shouldn't stop your significant other from having fun in college just because you two are apart and you can't trust him/her.

3. Will Power

If you aren't willing to put in the time to your significant other, the LDR will never work. You have to be willing to send texts reminding your significant other of how much they mean to you or how much you miss them when you have complete opposite schedules. It is so easy in a LDR to forget about your significant other when you've been without them for so long, but it's reminding them, after a month of not seeing eachother, how much you love them and can't wait to see them. You have to be willing to stay in instead of going out with friends and have a dinner date over Skype because you haven't seen each other in weeks. If you aren't willing to show your significant other how much they mean to you and put in the time to make the LDR work, it never will.

4. Communication

Communication is key in any relationship, but especially a LDR. It is really easy when you don't see your significant other to push aside any problem you two have had, but this only leads to a breakup or a really bad fight. Pushing everything aside will only work for so long because eventually you have to work through all of those issues. You don't get to see your significant other every day so you have to work through these problems over the phone or text and be able to communicate completely even though you can't physically see your significant other's face. You also have to know when something is worth the argument or when it's better to forget about the issue.

You won't want to go another minute without your significant other because of the years you spent only being able to Skype or text. You value your time together and can't wait for the next time you get to visit each other. Long distance relationships are difficult and will test every aspect of your relationship, but in the end, your relationship will only be stronger.