With cuffing season just passing, many of us got into relationships getting ready for the holidays. Some of us probably did not take into account the distance between you and your significant other. Nowadays, we have the technology to be able to Skype or FaceTime our significant others but sometimes that’s not enough as actually being there physically with them.
You’ve heard from everyone that long distance relationships will never last, and coming from someone who was in one for over a year, they are extremely hard. There are only two outcomes with long-distance relationships, you either get married or eventually break it off. Now I know it can be tough to think about both of those situations happening if you are newly dating, but they’re the harsh reality. The best approach for this type of situation is to always communicate with each other how you both are feeling.
Lack of communication is the biggest issue when it comes to long distance as people get busy and one missed phone call turns into a whole week of not talking which then ultimately leads to falling off from each other. Both parties have to be willing to take time out of their day to focus solely on each other, whether it be for 10 minutes or a few hours. Taking the time to really listen to your partner about their day and catching each other up on their lives really makes a difference in the whole atmosphere of the relationship.
As for high school seniors or college freshman, the hardest part of graduating is knowing you’re possibly going to have to leave your high school sweetheart in high school as you move on to start a new life in college. With the changes and new experiences you’ll be facing in college, this is the decisions for a lot of partners as they want to get the full experience of college and not hold their partners back from any opportunities they have coming for them.
You both grow into new people as you are faced with new challenges and the person you started the relationship with, may not be the same once you see them again after the first few weeks of college. You will start to miss out on the excitement of college if you’re sitting at home on the phone with your boyfriend instead of going out to eat with a new group of friends that night.
Being apart physically can also take a toll on the relationship as physical touch is something all of us essentially need to stay happy in the relationship. Not saying it has to be sexual, it can be as small as a hug or a handhold or simply just being there with the person knowing they’re right there physically next to you and not through a phone. Realistically, we can only go about a month not seeing our significant other before our emotions take the best of us and we start to doubt the relationship.
Attractiveness can also fade as you do not see them every day and you can’t see the small subtle things they do that you once fell in love with. This can also interfere with faithfulness with each other, you may start to miss the physical touch you once had and some even take to cheating with the longer you are apart. The best advice for this is to have an end goal every time you see each other, say to each other “we will see each other again on this date” and stick to that. Make plans right when your time is up, otherwise, you will be drowning in a sea of canceled plans and rescheduling which can lead to utter frustration and the thought that the relationship isn’t worth it.