I never thought I would ever be in a long distance relationship. I also never imagined being in a relationship with a guy at a military school. This meant that we would not see each other and would have extremely limited contact for three months. It has been a very long three months but as we are now days away from seeing each other again I have looked back on what I have learned during this separation.

1. Distance really does make the heart grow fonder.

.

It sounds really cliche but in all reality this saying is true. I have learned how much I love spending time with my boyfriend or even just being able to talk on the phone with him and how much I miss our time spent together while we are apart.

2. You cherish the time you do get to spend with them/talk to them.

I used to get upset when I didn't hear from my boyfriend for a few hours. Now, I may not hear from him for a week or more and I have had to learn to deal with that. However, it has made me appreciate and cherish every single message I get from him. Even if it is a quick I love you because that may be all I get from him for a while.

3.You learn how invested in your relationship your family is:

My mom is constantly asking me if I have heard from my boyfriend and reassuring me when I haven't heard from him in a while. My parents are constantly telling me how excited they are to see him again, while also making fun of me because they get to see him before me. I am truly grateful for parents who love my boyfriend so much and are truly invested in our relationship.

4. You learn who your true friends are:

The ones who are just as excited as you for the months apart to end are the ones who are most likely going to stick with you through the long nights of missing your significant other or sit through you constantly talking about them. Your true friends are the ones who will drag you out of bed and bring you to a coffee shop or anything to keep you busy because they see you are moping around missing your S.O.

5.You learn how meaningful the smallest things can be:

Small things like a goofy picture of the two of you or a letter that was written for an anniversary become the things that you turn to when you are missing your S.O the most. I have short videos of the two of us that I watch all the time just to hear his voice which makes missing him a tiny bit easier for a little bit.

Whether you are in a long distance relationship or not, being separated from your S.O is hard. Thank you to all military spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends for your sacrifice and thank you to their service men and women for their service to our country.