Your boyfriend has just texted you he’s going out with friends on a Friday night while you sit home alone wishing you two weren’t hundreds of miles apart. You want to lash out at him, tell him how unfair it is that you are being a good girlfriend staying in on a Friday night, but you don’t know what to say. So you say nothing and remain mad for days, weeks, until you see him again and you have an argument and you bring up that night from months ago. It’s too late to fight about it now.
Communication is a huge problem in all modern day relationships. Especially long-distance relationships. Thirty years ago people in long distance relationships didn’t always survive, because their main form of communication was handwritten letters. Modern day, we either send a text or make a phone call, sometimes we FaceTime our significant other. But is that enough to communicate all of your feelings towards each other?
From personal experience, I’ve found that maintaining strong communication in a long distance relationship is beyond difficult. He’s always busy, and you’re always busy. There isn’t enough time for you guys to make a phone call, or FaceTime so you text instead.
Texting is the worst form of communication. When it comes to texting, you assume a tone, you can’t hear how your significant other is saying the words, and neither can he hear you, so you unnecessarily fight. You start a fight over the simplest things, and it breaks the two of you. Here are my six ways of keeping a long distance relationshop alive.
1. Make time for each other. If you are busy juggling class and work, schedule a time every day where you call him. Don’t solely rely on texting as your only form of communication.
2. Every relationship needs work. You can’t stop working on your relationship just because you aren’t in the same state anymore.
3. Don’t fight over text. If the topic of conversation gets ugly, call him/her. Make the extra effort to find a resolution.
4. Surprise him/her. Keep your relationship alive by purchasing a plane ticket, or making a drive to your signficant other. The spontaneity not only makes your relationship fun, but also even that more meaningful. This is a great idea for when your partner is having a bad week, or simply to revive the spark.
5. Avoid “risky” situations. If you know that partying on a Friday night will upset your boyfriend/girlfriend, don’t do it. Don’t put your partner in a sitation where they feel powerless.
6. Don’t stop living. Just because you aren’t able to spend Friday nights together anymore. You can still have to have fun, laugh, smile, and experience life. College is supposed to be the most exhilarating time in your life. Make friends, go out, have fun, but don’t do something you’d regret the next day. Don’t go to a party just because he/she is. Do what you love.
Communication is key in every relationship, you have to keep the channel open, speak to him/her how you would want to be spoken to. Make him/her a priority so they make you a priority. Don’t let distance ruin your relationship when in today’s era it is so much easier to stay in contact.