Long distance relationships can seem intimidating, but I’m here to assure you they aren’t. I’ve been with my boyfriend for two and a half years, and our relationship has almost entirely been long distance. We started dating his senior year of high school, my junior year, so we knew that the long distance conversation was coming, and coming up quickly.
This is where my first point of advice comes in. Don’t let that conversation scare you or intimidate you in any way. You don’t have to sit down and have an overly serious conversation about whether long distance is what you and your partner want to do. My boyfriend and I were very easy going about it and we decided to see if it would work for us. Luckily it’s worked out very well.
Maintaining a long distance relationship can seem like a lot of work. It doesn’t have to be, and staying in touch doesn’t have to be stressful. With two majors and two minors, working with The Chronicle and working 20 hours a week, I have an extremely busy schedule. But what makes it all so much easier to handle is having someone in my life that is in the same boat as me. My boyfriend goes to a military college in Vermont and is currently in the Coast Guard Reserves. Our schedules are always packed to the brim. But that doesn’t intimidate us or put pressure on our relationship. On the contrary, being so busy and having our own individual lives has been a big part of why our relationship has worked and continues to work.
We live in a time graced with technology. My boyfriend and I are always in contact with each other in some form or another.
We’ll Snapchat each other or text each other funny pictures and posts we find online. We’re also both huge “The Walking Dead” fans, so every Sunday night we’ll be texting each other about the episode. About once a week or so, we’ll call each other or Skype, but we don’t stress ourselves out about talking to each other. Communication within your relationship is really just finding time when you each have it, and it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
The distance can actually bring you closer to one another. Being so far apart can be trying at times, but seeing my boyfriend’s face for the first time in months is the best feeling. Luckily since we started dating in our hometown, we get to see each other over our winter breaks and our summers.
A fun thing that you can do during the academic year is to visit each other. One of the great things about Hofstra is the close proximity to New York City. Having my boyfriend come down for a long weekend was great because I was able to show him around one of the greatest cities in the world. Of course when it comes to visiting significant others, roommates come into play. My advice is to just talk with your roommate and make sure that they would be comfortable with them staying.
My biggest advice for long distance dating in college is this: each relationship is unique so you have to do whatever works best for yours. If you’re coming to a point where either you’re graduating or you meet someone who goes to a different university, I would say at least give it a shot. As college students, we’re at a great point in our lives to try new things and figure out who we are, what works for us and what we want.
If you’re with someone who you care about, don’t let the distance keep you from being happy. If having a long distance relationship scares you, just remember that you are not alone, you’re with someone who you care about and who cares about you.
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