You think being in a relationship is hard. You think being in a relationship while being in college is even harder. What would you think if you were a college student in a long distance relationship with a military man stationed on the other side of the country or even overseas? All my fellow military girlfriends know exactly what you would think. You don’t know a hard relationship until you’ve walked a mile in the shoes we fill each and every day, and let me tell you that it’s not easy.

Your friends and classmates complain about how their boyfriend is going home for the weekend and they won’t see him until the following week. They’re complaining because their boyfriend is too busy studying or spending time with his friends to go grab dinner with them. What they don’t realize is how much you would love to be in their shoes. You’d love to be able to have the comfort of your boyfriend being on the same campus or even in the same state as you even if you don’t get to see him every single day. You would be totally okay with all of the things they’re not okay with because it would at least mean that your boyfriend is home instead of thousands of miles far away from home. You envy their relationship because they get to do all the things that you don’t have the luxury of doing, and yet they don’t even realize just how good they have it.

Even though these girls have it good, a military relationship has so many aspects to it that you wouldn’t change for the world because they make your relationship that much stronger. Sure, you have to go through all of the worries and struggles that come with the distance, but the outcome is worth so much more than the situation you’re currently in. You get so much more out of the relationship by the time your days of missing each other are over than you put in during the days apart. At the end of it all you’ll have the benefits of being a stronger version of yourself, you’ll grow in your faith, and you’ll appreciate each other more than you ever could have imagined possible.

Being in a military relationship isn’t something that just any girl can handle. There are many days of separation, loneliness, and more than enough days when you just want to eat a gallon of ice cream, watch some Netflix and cry. Even though all these things are hard, you learn to be okay with them because you wake up every morning knowing you’re one day closer to seeing each other and it gives you the motivation you need to keep pushing on. The distance allows you to learn to stand on your own two feet and be a much more independent person whether it’s by choice or not. You have the chance that others don’t get to separately find who you are as an individual rather than conforming to your significant other because you spend all of your time together. The time apart also allows you to develop so many other relationships with the people around you. How many girls do you know who drop all of their friends because they constantly just want to be with their boyfriend? It sucks never seeing each other, but it’s also a blessing in disguise because you get that privilege of taking the chance to have a circle of people in your life that’s larger than just the two of you. All of these things make you a stronger individual and will, in the long run, make you a better version of yourself.

When you’re thousands of miles away from each other, your faith becomes so much stronger because it’s all you have. You have the faith that God wouldn’t give the challenge of a military relationship with someone who couldn’t handle it. You know the distance is only temporary and you pray for the strength it takes to make it through the days you spend apart. The strength granted allows you to look forward to all the future days together that God has planned for you. You pray not only for strength, but you also begin praying for each other and for your relationship as a whole. Through the faith and prayer, God becomes your foundation and your commitment to each other can only grow stronger and result in a better relationship. The faith you develop doesn’t make the relationship easier, but it definitely makes it all possible.

One of the greatest things that comes out of your military relationship is your ever-growing appreciation for one another. After spending months apart, you will never take a single moment together for granted. You’ve sacrificed so much time that could have been spent with each other, but it has taught you to make the very most of the time that you do get to spend together. You will always have “that” day circled on your calendar and you’ll count down the months, days, and hours until the moment you see each other again arrives. Every moment is special, cherished, and valued so much more than in the normal, modern-day relationship and all of the “little things” will become big things, in your eyes. You’ll have an appreciation for one another that will get stronger with every goodbye and even stronger with every hello.

No one ever said it would easy and there’s a good reason for that; it’s not easy at all. You’ll face an overwhelming amount of challenges, but never forget that persistence and determination are always rewarded. Your relationship is something special that not everyone gets the chance to experience. They may get to see their significant other every week, but you get to be in love with your hero and experience the love of a military man who still manages to love you each and every day even from thousands of miles away.