I went on my first Tinder date about a week or two after downloading the app. I drove 45 minutes for a hookup. No dinner, barely an introduction, whatever. NBD—we got it done. A few days later, I met another guy from Tinder. I wasn’t sure if there was going to be a second date, but now we’ve been together long distance for over a year. We’re proof that not all long distance relationships are hard.
Our story started when my friends decided they were tired of me complaining about being single and made a Tinder profile for me while I was at work. They showed me a few guys, and, originally, I laughed it off. Gradually, I became more and more enthralled with this tiny dating world and started swiping.
I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t consider physical appearance while swiping—I did. To be honest, it was probably one of my main considerations, BUT I also read the bios. I said left swipe to toxic masculinity and right swipe to boys with dogs. Funny enough, the person I’m happily involved with right now was one of those boys with a dog.
I drove an hour to meet my current partner; he’d just gotten off of a 24-hour shift. He showed up in a hoodie, pajama pants and slides that were way too big for him. I’m going to be honest, not the best first impression. Remember: I dressed up for this. We hung out for about three hours before he had to go back to work. I don’t know exactly what happened, but we clicked.
The next day, I left for a week-long family vacation. On the way back, I stopped by and he had dinner together with me and my family. The day after, I moved into the dorms at UNC.
Freshman year of college was stressful. New school, new friends, time management struggles, homesickness—let’s be honest, starting out was not the easiest. I come from a really small town where my graduating class was just 100 people. My graduating class at UNC is 42 times that size, and I was in classes with over 200 people!
Luckily for me, I had someone fighting in my corner at all times. All decisions I made, he supported. Granted, sometimes he would disagree with me because he felt that I should study more, or this or that. But, for the big things, he was always there as a key figure in my success.
My first semester sucked, but I got through it. Then, COVID-19 struck, and finding time to spend together became even harder during the spring semester.
Over the summer, we got to see each other more. When I’m home we’re only an hour apart, but we’re 4 hours apart when I’m at school. Through it all, he has been my rock, and I love him dearly.
Long distance relationships are hard. It sucks that you can’t take a quick 10-15 minute trip just for a hug, but you develop a way to be with someone emotionally rather than physically. And ultimately, relationships are built on trust, supporting your loved one and knowing what they need from you. Communication can go a long way to making you feel as though you are right next to someone who’s hundreds of miles away. Bottom line: if you truly want to be with someone, you fight to overcome distance.