This letter is long over-due, but you deserve a thank you. And not just the quick, peck on the lips, thanks-for-buying-dinner thanks, but a real, wholehearted, declaration of appreciation.

I know these past four years haven’t been the easiest. We’ve had to struggle with a lot of ups and downs, and somehow, you’ve not only been patient and navigated our relationship past the bumps, but you’ve helped make our relationship as strong as it’s ever been. I’m not sure how you do it- but you do and I couldn’t be more grateful.

We had to deal with the who-visits-who debacle…a lot. This is probably the hardest part about going to universities that are over an hour apart, every week, every month, a conversation arises on when are we seeing each other next. This was especially hard when we didn’t have cars, and our go-to move was hopping rides with acquaintances or looking up bus and train tickets to figure out how to make it work. But even now, as we do have cars and our own apartments, the question is still on the horizon – When is our next visit? It could shake up a lot of couples, but not us. You somehow always have calmed me down and made me realize that no matter when we got to see each other next, no matter how long our time apart was, it would happen, and it would be worth it.

We had to learn how to have a relationship over a phone. Life is easy and carefree when we are together – we can hold each other’s hands to validate unspoken words, wipe away tears with the swipe of a finger when things get tough, and feel the radiation of our smiles when we are face-to-face. That’s not the case with our relationship 75% of the time, though. We had to adapt quickly and frustratingly to texting daily, making time for phone calls, and creating our own version of a date over take-out and Skype chats. But you never faltered. For a guy who hates being attached to a phone, I still received daily good morning messages, nightly calls on your walks home from the library, and whenever I wanted to video chat, you’d drop what you were doing and set up camp on your desk. How you adjusted, and kept me from getting disgruntled, with such ease is still an amazement to me.

We had to figure our balance with school and each other. Dating someone who doesn’t go to the same school as you do could spell disaster, having to find time to balance between spending time with your friends or seeing your significant other, but it was far from that with us. You never made me feel like I wasn’t a priority, or that I had to compete with other social obligations. With ease we were able to balance schoolwork, jobs, friends, roommates, and spending time with one another. Whether that meant you would visit for just a single night to grab dinner, or you’d make the trip home for a weekend just because I was, you did it with no complaints- in fact you still managed to reassure me it was the only thing you’d rather be doing (even if it secretly wasn’t).

Throughout it all, you have managed to continuously impress me and make me fall deeper and deeper each and every day. You’ve managed to make a situation that could have, and has, spelled trouble for many other couples, something that was of second-nature. In doing so you made me stronger, more confident in our relationship, and I can never begin to thank you for it. But hey, I thought this could be a start.