I just want to get this off my chest now, long distance relationships do SUCK! You are wishing for time to go by quickly so you can see your loved one again, but wishing time would stop when you are together. In reality, days apart feel like years and time goes faster than the speed of light when you are together. Every time you’re at the airport, bus or train station it’s an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Many people believe that long distance relationships are never going to work out. Your family may discourage it and some of your best friends may advise you not to take it too seriously, in case you get your heart broken. And don’t get me started on the haters. But what people do not know is that although they are hard, they are completely worth it! You cannot beat the butterfly feeling you get when you’re waiting for your love one to arrive.

Here are some helpful tips I followed through the hard times;

• Be honest – Talk about your feelings of fear, insecurity, jealousy, etc. Trying to hide something from your partner just doesn’t work!  There might be hundreds of miles between you, but they can always pick up when you are not being yourself.
• Avoid awkward / difficult conversations– Lets be honest, hearing your partner is going to the bar with a group of friends is a scary thought, what if they meet someone else? Always be honest and up front when you have plans, don’t lie or hide them hoping they never find out.  Reassure each other there is nothing to worry about and send a text to them every now and then… Who cares if you get some stick from your friends.
• Plan out your visits – Make the most of your visits, you might not be seeing each other again for a while. Planning fun and exciting trips together makes both of you excited and look forward to seeing each other. Take your partner on sightseeing trips, it might be boring for you seeing them again, but I can assure you it makes your partner feel at home seeing all the cool places you grew up. Oh and just because you don’t see each other as much, doesn’t mean you can’t still have random dates!
• Great communication – This is a main key to any long distance relationship… A good morning / night message every day is a must. One thing you must remember, you cannot hear the tone the message has been sent in.  So don’t be going psycho, as 60% of the time they didn’t mean it to sound the way you read it. Also try to update your partner on your life, however mundane some of the things may seem. I found sending each other pictures brought us closer together, I would seriously take pictures of anything and everything I did.  If you can upload a picture of your lunch on Facebook, you can send your partner random pictures too.
• Do things together – There are so many things you can do, so get creative and have fun together, the internet is full of fun ideas. Play online video games together, watch the same films, or even listen to music together. If you both like reading, hold your own book club. One fun thing we loved to do was playing I spy! How you ask? The rules are simple, you first say the beginning letter of the item and what room you are in and your partner has to guess. If someone needs a clue, you can send a photo where the item is somewhere in the photo, or say clues to what it can be.
• Skype as much as possible – Because looking into each other’s eyes and hearing each other’s voices can make everything feel alright again, even if Skype freezes a lot and most of the time you look like a giant pixel and sound like a robot.
• Make time for visits – Visits are the highlight of every long distance relationship.  You finally get to see each other to fulfill all the little things like kissing, holding hands, etc. These are all common to other couples but so very special and extra intimate for people in long distance relationships.
• Do not become clingy and obsessive – No one needs the ‘why haven’t you messaged back‘ text. Think back to what he is doing at the time and why he might not be able to message, maybe he’s been called to a meeting at work, or on the phone to a family member, or maybe he is catching up with a friend. There is always a rational reason and going crazy on him does you no favours at all and most likely ends up in an argument! (Sorry girls, lets be honest, this one is aimed more at us).

Every relationship is different, and it is especially different if you’re in a long distance relationship. If your partner wasn’t worth it, you wouldn’t be crazy enough to make it work. Just remember to love unconditionally, trust with all your heart and laugh until your belly hurts.

N x