Many people today would dread the thought of a long-distance relationship, even with the advanced technology we have. When it comes to relationships we will always long for the physical aspect of it, in addition to the emotion part. People may even look down on those in a long-distance relationship, deeming it a “fake relationship” or “not real.” Rather than looking at those in such a relationship with disdain or sympathy, we should actually be envious instead.

There are many times in a relationship where we would feel insecure about ourselves, personal issues, trust issues, emotional issues, and as a result, they tend to constrain the relationship. One can never be too sure of another’s intentions. For instance one may be in a relationship for money, sex, what have you. Especially with social media dominating and technology becoming more and more a part of our lives, we, in a way, expect our partners to understand us without us having to actually communicate it. With all the passive aggressive posts and subtweets, we expect them to catch on. Facial expressions, the way we behave with them, the tone we speak to them in, the way we handle them, our silence, also contribute to the expectancy of having partners being able to understand us. It’s these small, yet, unappreciated things that long-distance relationships don’t get the luxury of having. The subtle looks and touches, those moments where you want to just up and see them when you’re having a bad day, where you just want to sit in a comfortable silence with them in each other's arms-- it’s these things we take for granted. Although, in turn, this forces people in long-distance relationships to do something that makes relationships last: communicate.

In LDRs, we are forced to tell our partners our thoughts, feelings, and desires. What we are upset about, what we don’t particularly like, any kind of problem, we tell them because we don't expect them to just know. Having said that, we accept that we can live without each other and in turn, we know we’re making this effort because we want to be together and we want to do this. In the end, it would be easier to just drop this relationship and date someone nearby. But because of this, we’re reassured that there are feelings of love for each other, that we go through the painful process of a LDR and all the other trouble that comes with it. Because that person is worth it, we take the hard road.

Although LDRs may not work out in the long run, they can teach us how to be our own person that is in a relationship, how to talk about our feelings, and how to appreciate the small things. The saying, “Distance makes the heart grow fonder” rings true to relationships. Even if long distance relationships take a great deal of effort and very few people in LDRs stay together, we could all benefit from being in one. Maybe then, we’ll learn to treasure our partner more and the little moments we share with them everyday.