How to Deal with a Long Distance Relationship
I’m so, so excited to have one of my best blogging buds, Amanda from Blissful Gal, guest posting today. Amanda and I team up every month for our Blog Boss series, and her blog is full of amazing posts about college, relationships, and health. Amanda is a part of my closest blogging tribe and it’s an honor to have her guest posting today about long distance relationships! Dustin and I were in a long distance relationship for 1 month before his mission and then 2 years while he was on his mission and recently did the whole married long distance last summer for 5 weeks! Make sure you read about the cool site she mentions in her post about watching tv shows together online!
Imagine this: You have been dating your boyfriend for some time now and all of a sudden one of you has to make a geographic change that the other can’t work out.
Relationships can be challenging at times, but adding distance between two people seems to make things ten times harder. I wouldn’t change my boyfriend, Cory, for anything nor will I take back the time that we had to do the whole “long distance” thing. It truly brought us closer together and made us a stronger couple.
As an engineering student, I have to complete several co-op/internship rotations throughout my time at school. Depending where the jobs are, you might be required to live in another city or state (like me) for a semester. Last semester, I had the opportunity to work at a company that is top in my industry and I knew I had to take the opportunity. Although I would be living about four hours away from home for over three months, Cory encouraged me to take the co-op position because it would be a great experience.
Although it was challenging at times, here are some things that made my long distance relationship easier:
Skype Dates
Even if I can’t physically be with Cory, seeing his face still makes me happy. Due to our schedules, we might have video chatted several times, but it was just enough to tide me over until the next time I saw him.
My roommate was also in a LDR and she told me about this awesome site that allowed you to watch shows with your significant other through the internet! It’s called Rabbit and once you create an account, you are able to video chat, or choose what you and the other person will watch! And you can even connect to Netflix!! So if you and your S.O. have the same t.v. show or movie interests, this is perfect for you. Too bad Cory doesn’t like PLL… (:
Be Supportive
Whether you’re the person moving away or the one staying back, it’s always important to have your S.O’s best interest in mind. Yeah, you really don’t want to deal with an LDR, but if it benefits the other person, how could you be selfish and hold them back?
When I first told my boyfriend about the opportunity to go to Indiana for 3 months, he didn’t hesitate to tell me that I had to take it. I knew he would miss me, but the fact that he didn’t make me feel guilty for leaving home for that long made me feel so much better about my decision!
It’s so easy to want to keep things easier for you and only think about how the situation will affect you, but by doing so you aren’t letting your S.O. live up to their full potential. When you start thinking about them before yourself, the transition becomes easier for the both of you! I would have dreaded my whole experience if I had known that Cory really didn’t want me to go and didn’t support my decision.
Turn the Jealousy Down
Oh gosh, I could go on and on about this one, guys. First, just because you aren’t the one doing the traveling, doesn’t mean you need to be jealous. Yes, what your significant other is doing is super awesome and exciting, but that doesn’t mean your life isn’t cool! Grab your friends and hang out together!
I’m the type of person who thinks that the world is going to pause when I am not there (which obviously doesn’t happen…). Whenever I would hear about Cory hanging out with our friends from back home, I would get a pang of sadness because I wasn’t included. If you’re this way too, you need to tell yourself that the sole reason you aren’t included is because of your current opportunity. It’s not like they are excluding you, because had you been home you would be there too.
I’m definitely not going to lie to, long distance relationships are hard. But I also can’t lie and say they aren’t worth it. Seeing Cory after a long period of time was the best moment I had since the last time I saw him. And it was like nothing had ever changed between us because we were able to pick up right where we left off!
Have you been in a long distance relationship? How did you handle it?
About Amanda: Amanda is a lifestyle blogger at BlissfulGal.com where her goal is to inspire readers to live happy and healthy lives. Catch up with her and read all about self-improvement, college, health, and more! You can find her on Twitter, Instagram,and Pinterest too
