Even the most perfect relationships face some turmoil when there is distance involved. In both high school and college, life and love can become at the very least drastically different when your significant other graduates before you do. Whether they are going to a school that's far from you or taking a job somewhere else, its hard to go from being with them every day to dating via texting and FaceTime. Being the younger one in the relationship leads to all sorts of things.
1. People constantly say "long distance will never work!"
Thanks for your input Sharon, but I didn't ask. Long distance may not work perfectly with two people who just met over Tinder, but it has a much better chance of working when your relationship is already built on a firm foundation. Your partner graduating before you is just an, albeit tough, stepping stone in your life.
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2. You may want to follow them wherever they are.
When your boyfriend graduates and goes away to college or leaves to his new job, its totally normal (and healthy) to look for schools and jobs in that area as well. As long as you know he is somebody worth following, it isn't a crime to want to be close to them.
3. ...And people have something to say about that, too.
Following a boyfriend somewhere gets a bad wrap because people think that it is a sign of co-dependence on them, or that you are letting their choices dictate your life. But spouses move where spouses go, employees move where jobs go... People let other things dictate their life. People move to be where what is important to them is. I'll say it again, as long as you know he is somebody worth following, it isn't a crime to want to be close to them.
4. Getting used to extensive time apart is tough.
Seeing each other daily and then only seeing each other a few times a month or year is a huge adjustment, but just another hurdle to jump when you're a few years apart.
5. Phone calls get much longer.
When your only form of communication is virtual, hearing each other's voice for as long as possible is necessary.
6. As much as you wish they'd stay, you're so proud of them.
It sucks to watch the love of your life graduate and move on to a life that is going to be sans you for a little while. Knowing they're excited to start their next chapter even when it doesn't involve seeing you every single day can hurt. But knowing that they've completed such an important and impressive milestone in their life makes you so proud that its okay.
7. You realize distance does make the heart grow fonder.
A combination of loving them and missing them makes your feelings for them a little bit stronger.
8. You find yourself wanting to grow up a little faster.
While other people are still excited for prom or going out to the bars or things people your age do, you are getting excited about starting your career and your life.
9. You may feel bad for holding them back.
You may feel like you're holding your partner back when they're in college and you're back in high school, or when they're going to their adult, full-time job and you're still stumbling around the streets in your college town. That's normal. Just remember that your age is one thing you can't control and you can work past it.
10. You can't wait for your own graduation.
While you may love college or high school, knowing that that diploma is the first step to being back with the love of your life makes you want it to hurry up.
11. You know that no matter what, you'll end up together.
When you know, you know. And whether you have many years before you're ready to settle down together, or you just have one year of separation left, knowing somebody is "the one" is a feeling that can't be described. So if you're stuck pre-graduation and waiting to be with your "one" again, know its possible and that one day, despite the hardships and naysayers, you'll make it work and you'll both be graduated and together again.
