You may be wondering: ‘what could possibly be redeemable in a relationship like that?’ and the answer is—of course—the person.
Although you might go through the ‘six emotional stages’ of a long-distance relationship: Anticipation, Frustration, Denial, Hopelessness, Anger and (the best part) Joy, at the end of the day you’re always thinking of that person and why it is that you want to keep them in your life so badly that you would sacrifice a safer, ‘easier’ homeland relationship or just lose contact with them altogether.
The key to keeping them close is communication and trust. Despite possible time-zone differences, work and college, you should always make time for loved-ones. Make time here and there to send an email or make a call, and every so often maybe even send a handwritten letter or even a ‘care package’ filled with their favourite sweets or a new shirt, or just something to remind them that you’re thinking of them. Not only does this help with your communication skills, it’s fun for the both of you and will hopefully be reciprocated by your missed one.
Of course, we’re not ignorant of the fact that you’re going to miss that friendly shoulder to cry on or those special hugs that only they can give, so as much as you can afford time and money wise, make an effort to schedule some visits when you can.
But what about when you can’t visit one another: what are the perks and distractions you can do then? Sure, you’ll be missing them a lot, but the less frequent your time is together, the more you will cherish it. Additionally, you don’t always have to look your best if you don’t want to, and your communication skills are forced to improve in order to have a successful relationship. LDR’s also mean you can be independent in your relationship, and have plenty of ’me’ time when you need it.
But probably one of the best things that it can give you is the knowledge that if you can survive the distance, you can probably survive anything. Your relationship is a bond set for life, so don’t ever forget why you want those special people in your life.
