The Long Road Ahead
By MYCAH LEWIS
Winter is right around the corner, and so are those cold nights that are just so perfect for cuddling. Yet for many college students those cold winter nights will be spent alone thinking about the distance between them and the one they love.
Many college students start school in a long distance relationship and they can prove to be one of the many challenges that young people tend to face while in college. There are many uncertainties involved in long distance relationships, but just because it is difficult does not mean it is not worthwhile or doomed to failure. There are plenty of steps that people can do take in order to make it work.
Many long distance relationships are the result of those involved deciding to attend different colleges after high school. According to The Center for the Study of Long Distance Relationships 32.5% of all long distance relationships are college relationships, 40% of those relationships end in break ups, while 70% of failed long distance relationships are caused by unplanned changes. Although it may seem that the odds are not positive there is plenty of hope.
It is important when deciding to pursue a long distance relationship to discuss what could happen while you are apart; and to make sure that both parties involved understand the relationship may change. The most important topic to discuss is whether both parties share the same end game.
Dating, after all, is about finding your soul mate. If one wants to get married and the other does not, it might be a better to consider other options. Making plans can sets a solid foundation on which you can continue to strengthen your relationship.
Planning for a long distance relationship and actually experiencing one are two completely different things. Once you finally realize that hugs and kisses are no longer a few seconds or minutes away, you might begin to feel a little overwhelmed. Being separated by a couple hundred – or thousands – miles is not unmanageable.
Communication is easy with Skype, call, text, e-mail, write letters, and, if you want that added personal touch, send a carrier pigeon. Set aside an hour a day to talk on the phone, or challenge yourself to write a letter a day to each other so that you both feel important and central in each other’s lives.
But what good would communication be if there was no trust. When you were together you actually saw each other every day, but when you are apart you may begin to feel unnecessarily suspicious of each other. When this happens you have to think back to the foundation that you set before you decided to pursue a long distance relationship and trust that the other person remembers as well. You should both share a common goal of seeing your relationship through to a happy end, and just because you can’t see each other every day and be reassured that that is still a reality doesn’t mean that there is any reason to be suspicious. Trust each other until there are real reasons not too and everything will be ok.
For those college students who have decided to maintain a long distance relationship, remember that are plenty of things that you can do to help ensure that your endeavors are successful. Plan it out beforehand, communicate often, don’t forget to feed you carrier pigeons and trust each other. Just because 40% of all long distance relationships end in break ups it doesn’t mean that yours can’t be part of the 60% that does not.
