No one likes to be apart from the one they love. I’m not going to lie, long distance relationships are hard and sometimes they really suck. But when you have found “the one,” it’s totally worth it.

I’ve been dating my boyfriend for a little over two years. I could not imagine being with anyone else, he makes me incredibly happy. He is a year older so we are currently going through our second year of long distance. The first year, he was a freshman in college and had the new experiences that came with leaving home, while I was at home for senior year. Now I am the freshman and he is doing “the same old” as a sophomore.

While everyone’s relationships and experiences are different, there are some tips that I have found that have helped make our relationship stronger. For starters, you both need to want to try long distance, if only one of you is putting in the effort it most likely will not work out. Second, communication is key. I cannot stress this enough. This does not mean you need to tell your significant other every little detail of everything you did that day. But you do need to talk about your day and your feelings. Miscommunication is one of the hardest parts about long distance. Spending a few minutes every other day on the phone or FaceTime will strengthen the communication and ultimately, the relationship. Trust is another important factor to a strong long distance relationship, especially if you are both in college. You need to trust each other to spend time with people of the opposite gender and to go out to parties. If you can’t trust your significant other to go to a party without you, then you have a problem. Communication will help strengthen trust. The last piece of advice I have is to love each other. It is hard to be apart, but getting wrapped up in missing each other makes it hard to love each other. Take the time to send a cute text message or call them “just cause.” Send an unexpected letter in the mail or even a care package that will remind them of you. It is the little things that count.

Distance really does make the heart grow fonder. It may be a cliché saying, but it is one I have learned that is very true. Every day I am apart from my boyfriend is also one day closer to seeing him again. And when we are finally together, it feels as though we haven’t spent any time apart. We jump back in right where we left off. I appreciate my time with him so much more now that we live more than 600 miles apart. When we are both home the five minute drive to each others houses is something I no longer take for granted. I am grateful for our time together and how we have grown while we are apart. The key to any relationship, short or long distance, is whether you are both willing to put in the time and effort.