What it is like to Have a Long Distance Relationship in College

Ramsey Struble

I have been with my boyfriend for almost 6 years now, and out of those 6 years, we have been in a long-distance relationship consistently for almost 4 of those years. He lives on the other side of the state from me. Now let me tell you, it has been tough. It has taken a significant toll not necessarily on our relationship, but on us as individuals. We find ourselves not missing out on things, but rather, missing each other. He has been with me through thick and thin. I know it sounds corny, and everyone says this, but he truly is my best friend. He has kept me strong through so much that has happened, and being apart from him is really hard. On the bright side, we have learned to make it work.

One way we have made our long-distance relationship work is by facetiming each other every night. Now when I say every night, I mean EVERY NIGHT. We tell each other how our day went, what happened, and often times we just complain to each other about our problems. We are constantly keeping each other up to date on our lives so we aren’t leaving each other in the dark about anything. 

Another thing that helps is the fact that we never lie to each other and are always understanding. Because we’re so far apart, it can be easy to fall for the idea that telling a lie here and there to each other is okay. They’ll never know because they’re are so far from us. We don’t fall for that. We are always open and are always being honest with one another. Honesty is key, and I mean really being honest. Now with that being said, we also are extremely understanding. In order to tell each other the truth, we do not want to be judged. Because of that, we look at each situation through each others’ shoes. I feel this is so important in our relationship.

All in all, a long-distance relationship, I feel, has truly strengthened us as a whole. It has allowed our relationship to grow strong while we learned to grow as individuals. I’m not saying that I loved being in a long-distance relationship for 4 years, but I do feel that for us, it had its benefits in the long run. No matter how close or how far your significant other is, always tell them how your day went, ask them how theirs went, say I love you, be honest with them, and constantly put yourself in their shoes. 

Emma Cronk

 Although most people advise against it, I got into a serious relationship the summer before college. When it feels right, it’s hard not to give something a chance just because you’ll be farther away from each other during the year. I believe everyone should give long distance a chance before calling it quits.

               Grant and I have known each other since middle school but recently became very close. He was my best friend throughout all senior year of high school, and as soon as school was out, the friendship turned into feelings. We spent every day this past summer together going on countless dates and adventures. This is part of the reason why we’ve been able to make our situation work so well.  

Dates bring couples closer together and add fun to the dreadful weeks. No matter what we’re doing, we turn it into a date or memorable experience. My favorites so far have been times when we’ve explored the more beautiful parts Erie has to offer down by Presque Isle. We have done a couple of things there so far, like biking around the paths and having a beach date. We never had the luck of going to the beach on one of the warmer days, but we had a picnic there one night. We brought a blanket, got some ice cream, and sat and watched the waves in the dark. It was extremely cheesy, but it was one of my favorite things we’ve done so far.

           Another prominent reason people might be skeptical about long-distance dating is because of trust. Fortunately for me, this has never crossed my mind while being two hours away from Grant. We talk basically 24/7 and always tell each other every little boring, weird, or stupid detail about our day. The communication in our relationship has been the main reason it has been so easy to stay close.

               Although I do wish I lived 5 minutes away from him all year long, we are making it work. Our time together is special, and I look forward to seeing him all week.

Julia Fitzgibbon    

Link: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/how-to-make-a-long-distance-relationship-work/

Honestly, I haven’t been in a long distance for a great deal of time. And that mainly because I was off and on again (twice) with my boyfriend in the past when I was a mess. And he just moved to Cleveland in May since he graduated college and got a big boy job down there. But for the long distance relationship, it is a little nice during the school year honestly. Of course I miss my boy like all the time, but for me, I can get overwhelmed easily and I don’t like to have someone be clingy. With distance, I mainly avoid those two issues and it has been great. When he is up in erie, we spend almost every day together when I’m done with school work and he is done with his work. Otherwise, we see each other at least once a month. 

We text a lot and have many phone calls. When he got sick and I wish I could get him food, I used doordash (no this is not sponsored but I wish it was) and he got soup to his apartment in Cleveland, OH when I’m in Erie, PA! So that was cool and that leads to as much as I find technology annoying to an extent like a lot of people, it had made my long-distance relationship close that distance gap to an extent. 

Being in a long-distance relationship made me appreciate and not take for granted any moment I have with boyfriend. And like any relationship, I don’t think a distance relationship is much different. It is still the same thing and needs communication and trust but maybe even more so than a normal relationship since they can be far away from you. Which, I’m lucky my boyfriend is only two hours away, unlike others who have thousands and thousands of miles in between them and their lover.

 I just take day by day and we communicate daily and we both have complete trust in one another. And it’s a beautiful thing because we both have the end goal in mind of being with each other every day in the future. He’s just my best friend who happens to be my boyfriend too with just some distance between us that is temporary. And I wouldn’t want it any other way as this is strengthening our relationship and we learn more about each other and it’s so special. So if you are in a distance relationship, maybe just build on the necessary skills that any relationship needs and find out what you need from the other person and communicate your needs and expectations. And hopefully the distance in between you and your significant other is only temporary so it is not forever! You can do this!! Unless you don’t want to but that is something only you can determine. Good luck!! 

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