Long-distance relationships can be really hard. You live far away from each other, you don’t always know what the other person is doing and there can be a lot of miscommunication.
I have been in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend for nine months now. He lives in San Marcos, which is about two hours away from Waco. Two hours might not seem like a lot, but when you only get to see each other on the weekends, and maybe not even every weekend, it can be rough. But fortunately, we’ve been able to make it work.
We text and call each other every day, and we usually end up on FaceTime too. We try to visit each other every weekend and we try to do fun things together like going to see a drive-in movie or going to San Antonio to the Riverwalk. We are also completely open with each other, so we can talk about anything.
We’ve had a great nine months, but it isn’t always easy being apart. We can’t always just drive two hours to see each other during the week- my boyfriend has class and football, and I have class and work. Because we text a lot during the day there can sometimes be miscommunication and we end up annoyed or mad. If either of us is having a bad day, we can’t just go to the other person and be with them until everything is better.
So basically, long-distance sucks. But there are some good things that come with a long-distance relationship. The best part is that when the two of you are together, the time you have is so much more special because sometimes its very limited.
Another surprisingly good part is that you aren’t together 24/7, so you don’t get annoyed with each other and you can focus on yourself more. Some people in relationships spend too much time together, which can sometimes hurt a relationship.
I’d say that long-distance relationships are definitely doable. It might be hard sometimes, but its definitely worth it when you’re finally together. To make it work, you have to be understanding of the other person’s time commitments, like class, work, sports, etc. You also have to trust your partner. If you don’t trust them, its never going to work. Unless they give you a reason not to trust them, then they should be given the benefit of the doubt. You also both need to be strong individuals because not everyone can handle long-distance relationships and being apart for longer periods of time.
So if you’re in a long-distance relationship, trust the other person, enjoy the time to you spend together and don’t take anything for granted.
Heather Trotter is a junior journalism major from Franklin, Tenn. She is a reporter for the Lariat.
