As featured on Her Campus Utah

I have been in a long distance relationship for over two years now and at some points it has been more long distance than other times. I have gone from many extremes from living together to living over 8,000 miles apart. My boyfriend is Australian and therefore, lives in Australia. If you are or have ever been in a long distance relationship, let me start out by saying this: no matter how “close” the distance may be, it is always hard being away from your significant other and any amount of space is bound to put a strain on the relationship. I applaud you for trying to make it work whether it’s a state away or a country boarder away.

I have spent the past 7 months away from my boyfriend and at times, I become the least sympathetic person when it comes to my friend’s “long distance” relationship. I have come to a conclusion that there are varying degrees of distance in a relationship so read below and see what category you fit into.

The “We-live-in-different-cities” relationship:

It’s less than an hour drive to his, but it’s inconvenient when you are tired.

You don’t run into each other at the grocery store so you don’t need to be worried about looking good all the time.

You two wish you went to the same school, but when you graduate in a year that won’t be a problem.

The “It’s-an-affordable-plane-flight-away” relationship:

You can’t see each other every weekend, but every other one is reasonable.

You are considering transferring schools because, honestly, it’s as if you pay out of state tuition with the amount of flights you pay for.

You are still in the same time zone so your drunk texts and phone calls are usually answered immediately.

The “I-need-a-passport-to-be-with-you” relationship:

You didn’t see yourself as Canadian, but you spend half the year there anyway might as well get citizenship.

Holidays are spent with his family or yours and you sort of wish you could all be together.

You can’t just call him. It’s exclusively Skype and Facebook…”can you hear me now?”

When you see each other after a few months apart you want to look your very best because who knows when flights will be cheap enough.

The “this-can-never-work” relationship:

He can tell you the future because that’s how different your time zones are.

The toilet flushes in the opposite direction and this makes you sad.

When you leave to see your SO and it takes 2 days to arrive.

Long distance relationships can be hard and they can seem impossible, but if it’s supposed to work out, it will! Don’t be afraid to put yourself, even if it means spending some time apart. If you are in a long distance relationship or thinking about entering one then just remember a few things. Importantly, Facebook chat does not accurately show anyone’s tone or emotion so be patient and expect a couple miscommunication incidents. Make time for each other, even if it means missing out on a party just to Skype it’s these sacrifices that make all the difference. And lastly, keep your friends close because time spent apart will leave you loads of time to build other strong relationships.

Relationships are hard even when you live in the same yik-yak radius, so when you add on the lack of cuddles and the awkward time changes it becomes a real challenge. Shout out to everyone that makes it work and even bigger shout out to all your friends who support you through the inconvenient Skype times and inability to go on double dates even though at times it seems as if you are single.