One of the things they don't tell you about moving away from home is how much you can learn about people when you distance yourself from them. This can be applied to college, friendships, relationships... you name it. I was thinking back today about how close I have become with my father now that we do not live in the same house. We used to bicker and get on each other's nerves because we were so much alike, but I could never see it until I experienced that distance between us.

I think this is an important concept to think about, especially with life. Whenever I am involved in a situation or a relationship that is bringing me negativity, sometimes the best way to see things clearer is to distance myself from it. Take a step back, and look at it from afar, with an unbiased pair of eyes. I know how hard it can be to distance yourself, but what seems like a daunting and impossible task may just be the view you needed to understand the situation you are in or understand the choice that you need to make for yourself.

There's a lot to be learned with distance. You learn independence but also reassurance. If your relationship or friendship can last throughout distance, you are unstoppable. It is an indescribable feeling to feel as though you can understand a person and their soul even though you are umpteen miles away from their physical being.

You learn the way a person is when you are not around and you can highlight what is important to them based on the way they choose to spend their day. When you are with someone each and every day you don't necessarily grasp the monumental or even minuscule changes that occur to a person physically or emotionally. Reuniting after so many days or months or even years apart, you are able to recognize exactly which things have changed--which little quirks have been developed, and introduce yourself to the unique person they are growing into.

There's an unrequited benefit to friendships and relationships that harness the bravery of distance. I have never learned so much about myself, my friends, and my family until distance was brought between us. Our relationships are strong, our bonds have grown, and the love for each other grows immense as we have learned to value the time we have together, never taking for granted a second we are able to spend with each other.

It's interesting you know, being able to witness someone put the puzzle pieces of their life together, even if you aren't there to witness outside edges--you still get to uncover the final masterpiece.