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Pros and Cons of Long Distance Relationships

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Emily Morgan
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Kali Grant
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at OSU chapter.


College is an exciting yet stressful time, filled with building new relationships and breaking old ones. In any form, relationships in college can be tricky, especially when distance is thrown into the equation. Many of us have experienced this stressful situation either with a high school sweetheart or that seemingly awesome guy you met at a concert over the summer. Either way, when you love and care about someone far away, things can get hard and maybe even sometimes confusing. So, what do you do when you’re hopelessly devoted and the going gets tough? Look at the advantages and disadvantages, of course.

Pros:

  1. Something to look forward to. Between the nightly phone calls, weekly Skype sessions, or the visits, you will always be working toward the reward.
     
  2. You know they’re really committed to you. Going long distance is the ultimate test and testament of your strong bond. If you do go long distance, you have the assurance of knowing the someone who loves and cares about you is willing to sacrifice and work for your relationship.
     
  3. Time to spend on yourself. Long distance relationships allow you to be emotionally involved with that special someone while learning how to be independent and self-content at the same time.

Cons:

  1. Emotional stress. Simply put, you can’t see each other all the time. Loneliness and stress can put an emotional strain on you.
     
  2. Lack of physical intimacy. This can put a strain on the relationship while testing the trust and loyalty you have in one another.
     
  3. Misunderstandings. As you can’t always talk in person, communicating all of a sudden becomes a lot more challenging. Especially if you have an argument and you or your partner can simply not respond to call or texts, drawing out arguments longer than necessary.

So, do the benefits of “being” with someone you love outweigh the sacrifices needed to maintain the relationship? The answer to that question is of course personal and depends on each person’s circumstances. Just remember what’s important to you and always follow your gut.

Image: http://cdn.madamenoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/long_distance_love…

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Kali Grant is the founding Editor-in-Chief and Campus Correspondent for the OSU chapter of Her Campus. Kali is pursuing a B.A. in Public Affairs at the John Glenn School with a minor in Communication and is excited to be in her senior year. Kali is a student research assistant at the Glenn School and is a proud member of the Zeta Alpha chapter of Chi Omega. Kali has spent her collegiate summers interning with The Institute on Women and The Salvation Army and studying Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When she’s not daydreaming about returning to New Orleans and San Francisco, Kali loves drinking coffee, talking about cats and politics, and trying out questionable vegetarian recipes.