Long Distance Relationships: My Opinion  This is a topic I’ve really been wanting to write about because it’s something that, I feel, I need to express myself about.  Long Distance. What does it mean to you? To most people, it’s a relationship between lovers over a vast distance and only ever meeting up to spend time with one another now and again - or not even at all depending on the circumstances. A lot of couples put themselves through this and, sometimes, it doesn’t work. In fact, most couples eventually give up because they get tired or lonely living through this process of a relationship. A lot of the time, it doesn’t work out. And I seem to have noticed that long distance relationships have this bad reputation of being too idealistic or impossible because of how supposedly “impractical” it is. I mean, when you think of long distance, the first factor that comes to mind is how far a couple stretches away from each other and how much work must be put into the relationship. “It must be hard,” they say.  I can tell you directly that it is very, very hard. Long distance is no walk in the park. I can tell you this from personal experience because I’m in one. I live 4197KM away from my boyfriend who resides in Perth, Australia whereas I, in an entirely different country to him. When you think about it, the distance is pretty far and that’s without the factor of time-zones. I don’t have to deal with that because we have the same time-zone but I know so many other LD couples who try and cope with long hours between each other.  Take my best friend, Julia, who’s boyfriend also resides in Australia. Where mine lives in Perth, hers close to Sydney. That’s around about three hours of a time difference between them both. That doesn’t seem like much but to them, every minute counts and sometimes I find him staying up all through the night just to hear her voice or ask her about her day. Just…imagine how much patience and time and effort goes into something like that - how many hours are devoted to each other.  That’s all it really comes down to when we’re talking about long distances; patience, time and effort - coupled with a heavy dosage of love, understanding and maturity. It’s not as simple as a relationship where a couple live around the corner from each other and are free to meet up as they please. It’s so much more than that. There’s so much devotion in a LD that you don’t find in many other couples. It may not seem like it considering the amount of LD relationships that have failed because of cheating, things changing, priorities moving etc.  It takes a lot of trust as well to be able to date someone who’s miles or even continents away from you. Imagine not knowing where your boyfriend/girlfriend is on some days where they are out with friends or getting out of town for the weekend or even just buying groceries at the supermarket for a couple of hours. You’d never really know what they’re up to - you just have to trust that they’re not doing something that would hurt you. And to some people, that’s not easy. Like me, for example, I find it difficult to trust others and a LD really puts that ability to the test. Just how much faith is put into one person…It can be simply amazing.  There are those who doubt LD relationships. Who wouldn’t? But with doubt comes a fierce courage to over-come it. LD couples face problems of all kinds and they are continuously thrown into the fray with just one weapon - hope. Hope is what guides us. Hope is a strand of string you’ve been pulling for so long and have finally found the end. Hope is a fragile thing that’s as invisible as the wind but can be felt so strongly in a LD - the hope that one day, those long hours over the internet, wondering what you were up to that I was missing out on would be worth it.  I don’t know if you, personally, are in a relationship but one of the benefits is that you’re able to physically touch your partner, correct? Well, as you know, you can’t have that with a LD. When I met up with my boyfriend on the 6th of February 2012, that moment where I felt his arms around me as he hugged me outside his hotel room was… There aren’t even words for it. When you spend months being away from someone you love, having the chance to finally hold their hand or hug them or feel their lips against yours as you kiss is a precious gift that can’t be taken for granted. And I cherished the moments I was able to just completely be with my boyfriend. Whether you’re in a LD or not, being able to physically touch your partner should be treasured straight from the very core of your heart.  And then, of course, there is the forever spinning reel of questions that go through my mind - “What if”s and the future that lies ahead, possibilities and dreams, wishes I want to come true and desires I want to fulfil. These things are always going around in my mind every day and what I know other LD couples think of too. Sometimes, petty arguments and fights can get the best of us and we collapse exhausted at the end of the day trying to battle each other. Some days, we can’t understand our partners and we get shut out. Some days, we hurt each other in some way or another. And then the doubt comes flooding in like a tidal wave and you start to think, “Is this really worth suffering for?”  I can’t answer that question for LD couples - they have to decide that for themselves. But what I do know is that long distance is difficult. Nothing about it is easy. But here’s the thing - and I say this to you all with the purest sincerity.  Long distance isn’t about failing to have or find someone who’s closer to you, not necessarily. But instead, it’s reaching for someone. Reaching for the beginning of the string so you can find the end, whether it’s knotted or twisted in between. It’s reaching for something ordinary people can’t see the extraordinariness in. It takes effort, understanding, courage and love.  (Benny, you and Julia are reaching. I can see that as clear as night and day.) To me, long distance is worth every pain, every frustrating day away from the one you person you can’t live without, every petty dispute over the internet because, at the end of the day, they are worth suffering for. I’m still holding onto my tiny piece of string with a tight grip and I can say that I am in a long distance relationship. And y’know what? I don’t regret any moment of it.  To those of you who are in a LD, don’t give up. If they are worth every mile, fight. Fight for the embraces and the kisses. Fight for the tears and the laughter. Fight for the possibilities. Fight for the future. Don’t be afraid because you aren’t alone. And baby, if you’re reading this, I love you. I miss you. I need you. I want you. You are worth it all and I trust, with every ounce of my being, that you’ll take care of my heart as I will yours for the rest of my life. Whether I’m 16 or 68, I belong to you. - All my love, Micah. 

Long Distance Relationships: My Opinion 

This is a topic I’ve really been wanting to write about because it’s something that, I feel, I need to express myself about. 

Long Distance. What does it mean to you? To most people, it’s a relationship between lovers over a vast distance and only ever meeting up to spend time with one another now and again - or not even at all depending on the circumstances. A lot of couples put themselves through this and, sometimes, it doesn’t work. In fact, most couples eventually give up because they get tired or lonely living through this process of a relationship. A lot of the time, it doesn’t work out. And I seem to have noticed that long distance relationships have this bad reputation of being too idealistic or impossible because of how supposedly “impractical” it is.

I mean, when you think of long distance, the first factor that comes to mind is how far a couple stretches away from each other and how much work must be put into the relationship. “It must be hard,” they say. 

I can tell you directly that it is very, very hard. Long distance is no walk in the park. I can tell you this from personal experience because I’m in one. I live 4197KM away from my boyfriend who resides in Perth, Australia whereas I, in an entirely different country to him. When you think about it, the distance is pretty far and that’s without the factor of time-zones. I don’t have to deal with that because we have the same time-zone but I know so many other LD couples who try and cope with long hours between each other. 

Take my best friend, Julia, who’s boyfriend also resides in Australia. Where mine lives in Perth, hers close to Sydney. That’s around about three hours of a time difference between them both. That doesn’t seem like much but to them, every minute counts and sometimes I find him staying up all through the night just to hear her voice or ask her about her day. Just…imagine how much patience and time and effort goes into something like that - how many hours are devoted to each other. 

That’s all it really comes down to when we’re talking about long distances; patience, time and effort - coupled with a heavy dosage of love, understanding and maturity. It’s not as simple as a relationship where a couple live around the corner from each other and are free to meet up as they please. It’s so much more than that. There’s so much devotion in a LD that you don’t find in many other couples. It may not seem like it considering the amount of LD relationships that have failed because of cheating, things changing, priorities moving etc. 

It takes a lot of trust as well to be able to date someone who’s miles or even continents away from you. Imagine not knowing where your boyfriend/girlfriend is on some days where they are out with friends or getting out of town for the weekend or even just buying groceries at the supermarket for a couple of hours. You’d never really know what they’re up to - you just have to trust that they’re not doing something that would hurt you. And to some people, that’s not easy. Like me, for example, I find it difficult to trust others and a LD really puts that ability to the test. Just how much faith is put into one person…It can be simply amazing. 

There are those who doubt LD relationships. Who wouldn’t? But with doubt comes a fierce courage to over-come it. LD couples face problems of all kinds and they are continuously thrown into the fray with just one weapon - hope. Hope is what guides us. Hope is a strand of string you’ve been pulling for so long and have finally found the end. Hope is a fragile thing that’s as invisible as the wind but can be felt so strongly in a LD - the hope that one day, those long hours over the internet, wondering what you were up to that I was missing out on would be worth it. 

I don’t know if you, personally, are in a relationship but one of the benefits is that you’re able to physically touch your partner, correct? Well, as you know, you can’t have that with a LD.

When I met up with my boyfriend on the 6th of February 2012, that moment where I felt his arms around me as he hugged me outside his hotel room was…

There aren’t even words for it. When you spend months being away from someone you love, having the chance to finally hold their hand or hug them or feel their lips against yours as you kiss is a precious gift that can’t be taken for granted. And I cherished the moments I was able to just completely be with my boyfriend. Whether you’re in a LD or not, being able to physically touch your partner should be treasured straight from the very core of your heart. 

And then, of course, there is the forever spinning reel of questions that go through my mind - “What if”s and the future that lies ahead, possibilities and dreams, wishes I want to come true and desires I want to fulfil. These things are always going around in my mind every day and what I know other LD couples think of too. Sometimes, petty arguments and fights can get the best of us and we collapse exhausted at the end of the day trying to battle each other. Some days, we can’t understand our partners and we get shut out. Some days, we hurt each other in some way or another. And then the doubt comes flooding in like a tidal wave and you start to think, “Is this really worth suffering for?” 

I can’t answer that question for LD couples - they have to decide that for themselves. But what I do know is that long distance is difficult. Nothing about it is easy. But here’s the thing - and I say this to you all with the purest sincerity. 

Long distance isn’t about failing to have or find someone who’s closer to you, not necessarily. But instead, it’s reaching for someone. Reaching for the beginning of the string so you can find the end, whether it’s knotted or twisted in between. It’s reaching for something ordinary people can’t see the extraordinariness in. It takes effort, understanding, courage and love. 

(Benny, you and Julia are reaching. I can see that as clear as night and day.)

To me, long distance is worth every pain, every frustrating day away from the one you person you can’t live without, every petty dispute over the internet because, at the end of the day, they are worth suffering for. I’m still holding onto my tiny piece of string with a tight grip and I can say that I am in a long distance relationship. And y’know what? I don’t regret any moment of it. 

To those of you who are in a LD, don’t give up. If they are worth every mile, fight. Fight for the embraces and the kisses. Fight for the tears and the laughter. Fight for the possibilities. Fight for the future. Don’t be afraid because you aren’t alone.

And baby, if you’re reading this, I love you. I miss you. I need you. I want you. You are worth it all and I trust, with every ounce of my being, that you’ll take care of my heart as I will yours for the rest of my life. Whether I’m 16 or 68, I belong to you. - All my love, Micah.