Relationships can be hard, but they can be even harder when distance separates you from that special person you cherish the most. I know it can be hard keeping up a long distance relationship, whether you and your lover attended different universities in different regions, or if your lover's career takes them away from home for long periods of time. I have personal experience with this being that I live in Toronto, Canada and had a girlfriend from Thunder Bay, Canada. And for those of you not familiar with the province of Ontario's geography those two cities are approximately 1385 km (860 mi) apart or an 18 hour drive! Despite the amount of land between us, let me tell you, she was definitely worth it. The times we got to see each other were far apart, but it made us appreciate being together even more. Anyone in this similar situation can definitely relate to what I'm saying. Ultimately, we did break up after a little over a year of being together, admittedly partially because of the distance. But, having said that, long distance relationships are by no means impossible.
Challenges can include:
Not always having that physical contact and touch we all desire from our partner. A bit of a higher phone bill. And to further this, a bit more travel expensive. Negative thoughts about your partner and losing faith.
Solutions:
There is no real way to replace not having that tough from your partner. However, very often just hearing their voice can be just as fulfilling. Hearing the love and joy in your partners voice when they talk to you over the phone is a very strong thing. How many times have you had a bad day or been in a bad mood because of some situation that happened to you and you called your significant other and instantly your mood reversed and cheered up? Following this, having a long distance relationship can add weight to your monthly phone bill, but that's only if your are still living in 1999. With all the great technologies like VOIP phone services you can make extremely low costing or even free long distance calls. Also many cell phone providers have unlimited long distance packages and packages "favourite-5" type of packages where you can call the 5 people that you talk to the most, unlimited where ever they live. (And your partner better be at the top of the list! or at least behind your mother and father.) Dealing with negative thoughts and losing faith can sometimes be difficult to deal with. Is he/she cheating on me? What is he/she doing? Is this person thinking about me? This is where the two of you can really show your commitment to each other. Being able to trust your partner when they are away from you is PRICELESS. It builds a strong foundation to your relationship in which most "local" relationships would be lacking.
Long distance relationships will also make you appreciate your partner a lot more. It's human nature that we appreciate what we have little of and so every rare occasion that you do get to see your partner you'll cherish each other much more then if you saw each other regularly. This can cause for a lot less pointless bickering and arguing between each other as you have no time to waste in enjoying your company together!
Yes, long distance relationships can be tough, but certainly not impossible or anything that you should fear and avoid. There are definitely many advantages. If you and your partner both have strong character and are committed to each other, you will develop a strong bond that will be unbroken by most things can break a "normal" relationship.
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