Relationships are a fact of life. Humans need them to survive, whether it is friendships, family relations or romantic relationships, social interaction is a must to feel happy in life.

One of the hardest forms of a relationship to uphold is a romantic relationship because any big decision one will make not only affects them, but their significant other as well. And on top of making sure not to do anything too stupid that will make their significant other upset one also has to be willing to give up their time to spend it with their significant other. Yes, relationships are very time consuming, for any of you that did not know that.

Now take a relationship and add in long distance, and by long distance, I mean going weeks without physical interaction. That right there is a recipe for disaster.

Or so one may think.

Now as this is the opinion section of The Collegian, I obviously have a strong opinion on the matter of long distance relationships, for I am in one myself. And I say that long distance relationships are not a disaster. If anything, long distance strengthens a relationship.

At the end of the 2014 summer, I started dating my significant other, with both of us knowing that in just a mere two weeks, I would be going five hours away to attend school. Despite knowing that, we decided to try it out, for we both had an extreme interest in each other.

It has been stated that within the first few months of a relationship, physical contact is essential, for a physical bond is usually built before a mental bond, since a mental bond takes a lot more commitment and is a lot harder to form; thus, making mental bonds stronger than physical bonds. My significant other and I were lucky enough to form a physical bond before I had to leave, even though we only had two weeks to do so.

Eventually came the day where we had to say goodbye, and it proved to be the hardest goodbye I have had to do in my life.

Having been in two failed long distance relationships before this one, I was nervous what would happen. But my mind quickly changed because I started to realize that my significant other wanted this to work as much I did and I realized that that was what was missing from my relationships in the past: commitment.

Long distance nowadays is a lot easier to pull off thanks to all the technology that is available. Even though I am five hours away from my partner, I can still text them all day, call them whenever and Skype them at any time of the day. Heck, if you are like me, writing letters is even a way to stay in contact. So even though I am gone from my significant other, I am never truly alone, for they are always there to talk, no matter the circumstances.

Thanks to being in a long distance relationship, I have been able to form a stronger mental bond with my significant other than I ever have been able to with anyone else. Being apart for weeks at a time has definitely made us stronger.

And being honest, long distance relationships do suck at times, because after a hard day all I want to do is go home and be with my partner. But being away from each other all the time makes it so much more special when we finally are together again, for both of us know to cherish the times we get with each other.

Being in a relationship is a two-way street where both individuals need to be giving to the relationship. Long distance is the same way, but rather it being a two-way street, it is more like a two-way interstate.

I think that if one finds someone they really like and connect with they should let no amount of distance get in the way of their happiness. I did not and I am happier than I have ever been, for even though it gets hard at times, my relationship with Lyndsey is worth every mile. 

Jordan is a psychology major and can reached at [email protected]