My boyfriend and I are coming up on our one-year anniversary, which happens to be in the same month as the one-year anniversary quarantining due to the pandemic. To begin dating right before everything shut down was perfect timing on our part, and life how we knew it drastically changed.
After spending the summer together and having COVID-safe fun, we did not want to separate. We wanted to spend any second we could together. However, there was the impending inevitable future barreling towards us, which meant college in Boston for me. It meant being five-and-a-half hours away from the best friend I had fallen in love with. It meant a challenge- it meant long distance.
Long distance. Those words frightened me to all extents and filled me with anxiety. I did not want to break up with him, nor did I want him to break up with me. I thought to myself, “But are we going to last?”
We had been seeing each other every day and had been used to this quarantine life we were living. As the summer was coming to an end, our relationship was a frequent topic of our conversations. He wanted it to last just as bad as I did, which gave me comfort as well as confidence.
That dreaded day at the end of August came around. He dropped me off at my house and through tears we both told each other, “We can do this.”
Once I got to Emerson, it wasn’t all that bad. I was filled with excitement for what was to come. However, I had this fear lingering in the back of my mind:, what if it doesn’t work out?.
Now, sitting here almost six months after I arrived at college, my boyfriend and I still have a strong relationship. I believe that there are many keys to this.
FaceTime was the main way my boyfriend and I would talk. I would FaceTime him multiple times throughout the day and just talk about whatever came to mind. It made long distance a lot easier.
The second factor of what I think is key to maintaining a long distance relationship is at least one visit. However, with COVID, travel may not be the safest or recommended. My boyfriend followed all COVID guidelines and eventually visited me in Boston. I felt so thankful to spend any moment I could with him and show him the city.
The third and most important key to maintaining a long distance relationship is that you and your significant other both need to want it. If you both want it, you will be determined to make it work. It requires a lot of optimism, which is easier said than done.
Long distance may seem scary, but it puts up a challenge that is almost rewarding. Life changes and change is a good thing, no matter how uncomfortable it may seem.