Long distance relationships are tough. I’m not limiting the “relationships” to the romantic type. I’m talking about everything from relationships with friends and family to relationships with a significant other.
I’ve experienced everything on this spectrum and it was never a walk in the park.
Relationships aren’t 50-50. Both parties should be willing to give 100 percent in order for it to survive.
My best friend and I have been friends for 14 years. Inseparable from the time we were 6 years old, the two of us did everything together.
In the eighth grade, we went our separate ways for the year and reunited in high school. Our year apart didn’t seem to matter because we saw each other every weekend and talked every day. It wasn’t until graduation that our relationship was tested.
I go to school 45 minutes away from home and roughly 2,500 miles away from my best friend. Freshman year, we spoke on the phone every other day and we constantly counted the days down until our next break.
Fast forward to now, and our relationship is maintained by random text messages, spontaneous life updates and conversations every Sunday that last for hours. When we do see each other, we pick up where we left off and our friendship continues to flourish.
As we near the end of the school year, people will begin to go their separate ways. Relationships are one of the best things we’ve been blessed to have with people. I am so grateful for the relationships I’ve had in the past and the relationships I have now.
The best thing life gives us is lessons through everything we do. Through all types of relationships I’ve experienced, I can say I’ve grown as a person.
Do not fear for what is to become of your relationships once school is over and life happens, but be excited to see where your relationships with others take you.
We spend about four years with strangers who eventually become our closest friends. So spend time growing together as a unit and as individuals.
Grow relationships to weather every storm you’ll face in the future and build steady friendships that can last a lifetime, no matter the distance.
