Life After Long Distance (A Soppy Post)

When my boyfriend of three months moved to California, USA in August 2014 - it thought it was the end of the world. The day he left my best-friend and myself, consumed about 5 kilograms of chocolate, approximately 2 kilograms of sugary sweets and numerous plates of ketchup covered chips; all whilst I tracked his flight for about 12 hours. Literally.

For me, ever the Drama Queen, the world had ended. However...

I do not regret being in a long distance relationship; not even one little bit. It proved to be the ultimate test of our relationship and revealed to each other our ugly sides (lets face it, we all have an ugly side) which we would have otherwise hidden from each other. At times, things were very tough and we considered breaking up on multiple occasions due to personal problems, but we pulled through because we had something worth fighting for. I now know that he is always there to support me and I am there for him also, unconditionally.

It may have been a long year, but now it is time to move on and look forward to the future and our final year of university.

Nowadays, he lives 30 minutes away and we are both back studying at the University of Hertfordshire. We go out on dates, day trips to London, hang out with our friends and have lazy days watching TV together eating junk food. If he is very lucky, I even go to football matches with him. We have got to do basically all the couple stuff we missed doing in our year apart and it is great. He even buys me chocolate and Cookie Dough ice-cream (I am very lucky, I know!). When he goes back home to Middlesbrough for the holidays, it is no big deal - it may be 500 miles away but at least he is in the same time zone!

That is not to say I did not find it quite overwhelming at first having him so close all the time. I mean, once you get used to not having a person there, what do you when they are there every other day? Luckily, being apart for a year has taught us that we do not need to be joined at the hip (like other couples) to have a great relationship; we each enjoy, and need, our own time to do our own things. I could not think of anything worse than playing video games all day!

Whilst many may think that this may be a useless post, I wanted to reflect and let those that are currently in a long distance relationship, whether you are 100 or 5,000 miles apart, that it can be positive challenge of your relationship and when you come out the other end; you know that together you are stronger and can get through anything life throws at you.

P.S. I would like to say a big thank you to my friends, especially Charlotte, who put up with me at my very worst and fed me chips and chocolate - love you lots bud! Also to the main man himself, Ryan, who supports me in everything I do and keeps me strong. Happy 18 months anniversary stinky :P

If you liked this, you may also like my other post on long distance relationships; Some Honest Truths About Being in a Long Distance Relationship.