As winter break comes to an end and we have to leave our boyfriends and girlfriends and go back to school, there are many aspects of our long distance relationship that have come to mind. Mostly, what we do and what we enjoy that makes this work.

Long distance is hard. It's hard to be away from your boyfriend/girlfriend for weeks (or even months) at a time. It is hard to see other people holding their boyfriend/girlfriend's hand while walking on campus, or while studying in the library. It is hard to realize that if you are bored, you cannot just call them to hang out for a few hours.

However, one thing has come to my mind about long distance relationships. This is the personalities the couple has, that somehow make it manageable. Specifically three things come to mind when I think about my own personal long distance relationship. They are dreaming, loving, and traveling. Three passions, and three essentials.

1. Dreaming. When it comes to long distance relationships, dreaming is inevitable. You are going to dream of the next time that you pull into their drive way and get to hug them again. You are going to dream of what you guys would be doing if you were together all of the time. Dreaming is good. It keeps you on my toes, sets your eyes on a vision, and gives you motivation for something to work towards and look forward to for the future.

2. Loving. Long distance will not work if this is not something that you have your whole heart set on. Long distance isn't for someone who is not 100% sure that this relationship is worth the lonely nights, or for the person who is unsure of what their partner is doing while they are gone. Long distance is a huge commitment of wholehearted trust and dedication to one another. It is for people who love hard with everything they have in order to

3. Traveling. Duh. You will be traveling. You will have to be okay with that. Whether it means being okay with riding in the car for a few hours, or making your way through the airports you have never been to, you will have to love to travel. There is something so fun in the anticipation of packing up, spending a day traveling, and then finally reaching who you have been trying to get to.

With this said, leaving never gets easier. And honestly, the farther along in the relationship, the harder leaving seems to be. The feelings and memories with one another grow, but the distance is still there. However, when all is said and done, being in a long distance relationship is one of the best love-hate feelings in my life.

I hate it because sometimes I wish it could be easier.

I love it because it has taught me to dream about what is to come, love deeply, and spend my days traveling to get to the person who makes it all worth it.