In any relationship, you have to put in effort to make it work. That being said, long distance relationships take an extra amount of work to keep the love alive. Even though it’s not an easy thing to do, it’s completely worth it.
To be perfectly honest, I had never wanted to be in a long distance relationship because I couldn’t imagine myself trying to be with someone that I wouldn’t see regularly. My perspective changed when my boyfriend, Connor, and I started dating when I came home from my first year of college. We both decided that we wanted to stay together when school started again in the fall, even though we would be about 100 miles away from one another.
Throughout the summer, the two of us discussed what we wanted out of the relationship and how we wanted to communicate while we were apart. Here’s a couple things that we decided upon:
1. Texting and Snapchatting every day.
Communication is key in every relationship and is especially important in a long distance relationship. Texting and/or snapchatting each other every single day keeps us connected, even if it’s simply a message saying “good morning” or “how has your day been?” Knowing that Connor is thinking about me is really comforting when the two of us can’t physically be together.
2. Weekly phone calls.
Hearing his voice can make my entire week and I know he feels the same way about hearing mine. Taking time during the week to talk on the phone is a great way for us to fill each other in on what’s been going on in our lives recently. Getting to hear the tone of his voice when he tells me a story is so much better than just reading a text.
3. Writing letters.
Sometimes we will write each other letters to be extra romantic and old-fashioned. It’s never expected, but it’s always a nice surprise to open the mailbox to see a letter addressed to me. Conversely, I get so excited for the letters I send him to arrive. I’ll excitedly wait for a text from him saying “guess what I got today?”
Little things that let me know that he’s thinking of me hold me over until the times that I get to see him. We’re both involved in Greek organizations on our campuses and are very dedicated to our majors so it’s often difficult for us to find times that both of our schedules line up and we can spend a weekend together.
Being apart has allowed us to truly cherish the time that we do get to spend together. The time spent together makes all of the time we’re apart worth it. Being able to run into my best friend’s arms after weeks of not seeing him is the greatest feeling in the world, and I can’t wait until I get to see him next.
