I started dating my boyfriend right before I began college in 2015. Ever since then, we've been long distance, whether it was between our respective schools or between our own homes.
As anyone in a long distance relationship can tell you, not being able to see each other regularly honestly sucks.
Texting, Snapchat, and all that good social media do help some. Having that daily contact can become a lifeline sometimes, especially when you're like me and deal with mental health.
But texting and social media only help so much.
They're certainly no replacement for actually being in the physical presence of your loved one.
My boyfriend and I live about half an hour from each other. While that doesn't sound like much (especially to my fellow long-distance couples who are further apart and probably rolling their eyes at me right now saying "That's nothing,"), it does contribute to why we don't get to see each other so often.
In addition to the distance and driving time, we have very different schedules that make seeing one another during the week harder. When he has nights free, I tend to have work, homework, or class. On days I'm free, he'll have work or show rehearsals. Even though he's graduated college, and when I'm on school breaks, we don't see each other very often. For a long time now, I've only gotten to see him on weekends...and sometimes not even then.
It's hard to go a full week or more without being around your significant other. It's even harder when you see other couples at the same college and thus seeing each other daily, or at least seeing each other on a regular basis.
The hardest part: seeing other couples move in together.
Because I want that. My boyfriend and I have talked about moving in together for a couple years by now, and unfortunately, it just hasn't been possible financially for either of us. This makes seeing other couples move in together even harder, because you know there's that one factor stopping anything from happening.
To the couples who see each other daily or at least more often than once a week: appreciate what you've got. Realize how lucky you are.
