Surviving? No, THRIVING! What seems like a total drag is actually one of the easiest ways to grow as a person, with your person.
Did a summer fling last a little too long? Did life take you and your beau, or belle, separate ways? Meet someone amazing online? However your relationship has started, nothing sounds fun about being hundreds (or thousands) of miles away from the person you love. There is no doubt that being in a long-distance relationship is no easy feat, but I’ve found that it’s encouraged me to grow into such a better person than I was before. Boyfriend after boyfriend, close-distance relationship after close-distance relationship, I’ve never felt more inclined to grow than right now.
My partner and I are about 3 hours away from each other. It’s a medium distance, which fortunately makes weekend visits easy. Spending weeks apart, though, is a golden opportunity to work on myself!
I’m in my last year of undergrad and just submitted graduate school applications. This semester has been HARD! Weekend visits motivated me extra hard to manage my time and push through the week so my weekends would be free. This wasn’t always possible, of course, but I pushed myself to make the most out of my time, often times even getting ahead on work! Being away from each other has also helped my focus. There couldn’t be any spontaneous dates or late-weeknight hangouts, so I had plenty of time to focus on my studies and ALWAYS got enough sleep!
Not always having my boyfriend around has also encouraged me to spend more time growing other relationships in my life. We all know somebody (or have been that somebody) that forgets about their friends or family when they start dating someone. With LDRs, it’s almost the opposite. Friends and family are so important for your well-being, especially with how lonely it can feel sometimes being far from your partner.
If you find yourself in a LDR, no worries, it’s not impossible! With enough healthy communication and establishing boundaries early on, it can be such a wonderful experience. Being far from the person you are closest with can act as a motivator to work on yourself, and be the best person you can be. Whether it’s by yourself, or with a partner, everyone needs space to grow.