Long distance love has been romanticized by pop culture ever since we were young girls. Movies and books make long distance relationships seem fun and easy and oh, so romantic. We started watching Disney movies and seeing Ariel and Cinderella idolizing their loves from afar, to being teenagers watching movies such as "Dear John" and wanting so bad to be apart of something that had so much loved enveloped inside it. What they don’t put in the movie is the actual part of being away from that person, and the absolute agony that goes with it.

Long distance relationships are the hardest and most painful type of relationship and by far the hardest thing that I have ever put myself through. Being away from someone that carries half of your heart is down right agonizing at times. You can’t help who you fall in love with, and if that person happens to live over a few hours from you then you’re stuck trying the long distance thing.

This is not an article about why long distance is worth it. This is not a fluffy romance piece because frankly long distance is enough to make couples want to tear their hair out. This article is more about the relatable side of the long distance relationship, and why they suck.

1. Texting sucks.

We live in the age of communication where anyone is a short message away, but that seems to exactly be the problem with long distance relationships. It is very easy to get lazy and just send your partner a few short texts without any tone or emotion. Since you don’t get to see them, you’re stuck between being in constant conversation with your partner all day, or just not talking them at all. And it sucks.

2. Facetime sucks.

As technology is evolving, the great minds of the future have come up with the ever so innovative, Facetime. While it is step up from texting, it means something entirely different when you are in a long distance relationship. Facetime means, my only way of seeing the love of my life for maybe an hour a day, on a six inch screen, if you’re lucky.

3. The fact that none of your friends are in a long distance relationship, sucks.

When your friends get into relationships, you are usually the one most excited for them, it’s awesome having a buddy to talk about all of the mushy stuff and someone else to cry at chick flicks with you. But that happiness turns into bitterness and absolute jealousy when they start going on dates, or you walk in on them cuddling or cooking together in the kitchen and you’re left alone with Facetime and a few texts to keep you company. Oh, and a big tub of ice cream.

4. Fighting sucks.

Every couple fights, it’s natural—but fighting when you live very far away from each other is absolute hell. The littlest fights can turn into big blow out arguments; depending on how you word a text. Or when actual fights happen and one person is mad or hurt, the best you can do is Facetime and try to talk through what is going on without any physicality. Nothing hurts more than fighting with the love of your life, and watching them cry, and all you can do is sit there looking at your six inch screen. And that sucks.

5. Making up sucks even more.

Ever heard of make up sex? That’s not even in a long distance relationship vocabulary. Neither is make up hugs, or make up kisses, or make up cuddles. The most you can do is send your person a long sweet text telling them how much you love them. For the thousandth time.

6. The lack of physicality sucks.

The physical part of relationships are much more important than you think, and it’s not just the lack of sex. It’s the lack of human contact in general. Late at night when you are lying in bed alone all you can think about is how much you crave the heat and comfort of the person you love. Or if you are frustrated with anything—school, work, your roommates—all you want is the person who holds your heart to come over and put their arms around you. That contact doesn’t exist. And that sucks.

7. The fact that your significant other finds most of their happiness in other people, sucks.

When you live far away from your boyfriend/girlfriend, odds are that they have other friends or roommates that are around all the time. Since social media is so prevalent these days, you get to see them with their friends laughing and having a good time...without you. Although in the end all you want is their happiness, jealousy takes over when you have to watch someone else make them laugh.

8. Jealousy sucks.

Your mind is your worst enemy in long distance relationships. Jealousy surfaces in every aspect of long distance relationships. You get jealous when they go out and for some reason you can’t, so they are out having fun, and you’re stuck at home. You get jealous if they hang out with the opposite sex—no matter who it is. You get jealous if your own friends are hanging out with their boyfriends and you don’t get to. The worst part about jealousy is that it's usually in your own head, and all you can do is swallow it and move on, and that sucks.

Long distance relationships take a lot of time, money and work to maintain. You have to constantly be working and evolving to make the relationship work and last. It’s not easy and even though it sucks, the good always outweighs the bad. For every aspect of the relationship that sucks, knowing that that person loves you back and is going through all of the hardships with you somehow makes it all worth it.