Most of the time when you ask someone what they think of long distance relationships they’ll say it won’t work, something about cheating, and maybe give you a little lecture on relationships.

The truth is, all of the reasons people give for not being in a long distance relationship (aside from the distance itself) can happen in a normal relationship. All of the risks are there for every type of relationship.

“What if they meet someone else?”

What if they walk down the street from my house and meet someone else? People fall out of love, people change, and your significant other can meet someone else when they are five minutes away from you. Not taking the chance for something that can end up being the best thing in your life because of the fear of it not working will just leave you a sheltered, lonely person.

In my junior year of high school, I met a guy who was worth dating, and I also started looking into colleges.

Early on in my relationship, I wasn’t sure where it would go, so my options for college were pretty much anywhere. As time went on though, the thought became scarier. Did I want to do long distance? Did he want to do long distance? When the discussion came up it was an easy answer — yes. When it actually came down to it? It was really hard.

After going from spending almost every day together it went to waiting for the next time we’d see each other.

If anyone asked me if the waiting is worth it, I would tell you a million times that yes it is.

It may be a rocky start, but if you think that a relationship is serious then the distance will only be a little obstacle. There may be other obstacles in the way such as transportation, money, or time, but there are other ways to stay close even if you’re physically apart. We live in a time when we don’t need the mailman to tell our lover that we are in fact still in love with them, you can literally see their face through your phone at any time. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

You’ve probably heard this before, and you’ve probably heard that it’s not true. In some cases, it’s not. Distance can strain your relationship, but sometimes it’s the complete opposite. Have you ever gone on a vacation, and the entire time you’re there you’re thinking “I cannot wait to see my dog”? Then you go home, and it’s almost the same as the first day you got your pet. You don’t want to leave them alone, and you give them the most attention they’ve ever received from you in their entire life. That feeling is exactly the same feeling of seeing your significant other after being apart.

Another advantage of long distance relationships is that it can make your relationship stronger.

In my personal experience, being away from my boyfriend made me appreciate him and everything he does a lot more. Sometimes when you’re with someone all the time it’s hard to see the little things for what they are, and you lose perception of your relationship. By going into a long distance relationship there’s a lot of time to think about your relationship, and even the small “Thinking of you.” text messages will have you swooning.

If the two people in the relationship work hard enough at the relationship, the distance won’t be that hard.

Relationships are work, and require an everyday choice to commit to that person. It may work for some, and it may end in a total disaster for others. Who’s to say that the relationship wouldn’t have ended in disaster even if it wasn’t long distance? There’s no way of knowing, but if the person is right the distance won’t matter. As time goes on you’ll become more used to it too, and it won’t feel like it’s impossible anymore. Maybe after trying it out you’ll realize that it’s not going to work, but at least you tried. After a while though, once you do realize that it can work putting in more effort won’t feel like it’s any effort at all.

As much as it does suck when you’re having a really bad day or week and you really just want to see your significant other, it feels amazing when you finally do see them.

All relationships have the risk of not working out the way you want them to, but to not even try to continue a relationship because of distance is like not buying something you’ve wanted for so long because you’re scared it will break. If you’re in a predicament with a relationship because you and your significant other are parting ways, then I say that you try.

It never hurts to try, and you may find new things about each other and it may make your relationship even better than it already was.