As many people say long-distance relationships are either going to weaken or strengthen your relationship with your partner and let me tell you that is very true. It will either bring the two of you closer and when you’re together make that time so much more special or it will show each of you how much you enjoy being on your own. For me, this past summer was my first time doing long-distance. Like everyone, you have your little doubts and worries that will it really work. Will you actually be able to go a long time without physically having your person with you 24/7? Will you really be able to deal with the time apart? For me, I had all of those worries and especially with my love language being physical touch and quality time I knew it was going to be an issue, but I can honestly say that I made it out to the other side in an even better relationship than I went into long-distance with and it all comes down to one big thing:
COMMUNICATION.
Of course, there are things that help throughout your time doing LDRs, but the biggest one that myself and others that have done/are LDR can say is that communication is key. On top of that, trust needs to be right up there with communication, because if you cannot trust the person that you are with then why are you even in the relationship. The amount of people that are so unsure and not secure in their own relationships before even going into long-distance is crazy; especially when they think that doing long distance is going to strengthen their relationship.
Now onto the fun stuff, one of the best things that I did to keep me sane over the summer was call my partner a couple of times a week. Whether that means him calling me on his way home from work, if we had something exciting to tell each other or when we were both home and had nothing to do. Even if the phone calls lasted 3 minutes or 3 hours they always made my day so much better. Another thing that makes your time go by quicker is when you make plans to see each other. That way you have something to look forward to and can plan things to do when you finally see them. The final thing that makes your LDR work out the best is pictures, looking back on fun memories and remembering why you’re in that relationship in the first place.
As most people know, long-distance isn’t for everyone, but if you are willing to put in the work and be the best you can be apart then you’ll be able to make anything work!