How to Survive a Long-Distance Relationship
Do you remember that old saying — “if you love someone let them go, if they return they were always your and if they don’t they never were?” Bullsh*t.
If you really love a person, why let them go in the first place? Everyone always thinks that in order to have fun in college, you need to either be single OR have your boyfriend a few dorms down. Take it from me — I’ve been dating my boyfriend since senior year of high school and we are seven months away from graduating college — it’s not that hard.
Coming out of college with the same boyfriend that you came in with is not a miracle. I like to think that people who keep their relationships should be the rule as opposed to the exception — not the other way around. There’s no reason to at least try to keep that love alive. Here are a few of my favorite tips on how to keep your long-distance relationship during college.
Trust is a Must
A relationship is nothing without trust. I’ve always said that you should never have any reason to mistrust your partner until they give you a reason to. Don’t judge your current relationship off of a past relationship and keep your mind clear. Do not be that couple that doesn’t go out because your partner isn’t there but don’t be that couple that gets mad at your partner because they’re out without you either. Trust that your partner wants to be with you and believe that they will be faithful to you regardless of if you are there or not.
Communication is Key
Keep yourselves in communication. Don’t forget to talk things out and don’t be afraid to say how you feel. There’s no reason to keep how you feel bottled up. This isn’t to say that you need to be texting 24|7 but make sure that you are talking to your partner for a good amount of time every day because being away will be a change. Utilize facetime or video chats in order to see your partners face when you’re missing them every once in a while. Just because you can’t see them every day doesn’t mean that you can’t hear their voice enough to make them seem a little bit closer.
Plan Visits
If you live close enough, plan to visit your partner throughout the school year — at least once. This sounds cliché but when you see them it will it be 100x better than any time you would have seen them at home. After not seeing them for such long a period of time you will have so much to catch up on. Time will fly but treasure it. You will have so many stories to tell each other about your new friends and what you’ve been up to that you won’t have any time to think about the fact that this is only a short visit.
It’s worth it
There is a reason that you dated this person in the first place. If you are happy with them don’t think that you have to break up with them to get the “college experience.” It’s possible to still enjoy college while in a relationship as long as you let yourself. Go out, have fun and keep yourself busy. There’s no reason why you should feel like you have to hold yourself back from anything because you’re in a relationship. The right person will understand that you both just want to have fun and you will both find ways to do so while apart.
The moral of the story here is that college will be great, relationship or not. Don’t feel like you need to go into college alone and figure out what you want. If you already have what you want, stay with that person. If it doesn’t work out it doesn’t work out, but at least you tried. You won’t lose anything — you only gain the possibility of gaining a really great relationship, maybe one that will last forever.
