Studying and/or living in a different country has its highs and lows, especially when it involves being thousands of miles away from your friends, family and/or better-half. People tend to think long-distance is only limited to people living in different parts of the world, but you can have a long-distance relation with someone studying in a different state too. It is difficult to accept that you won’t be seeing your BFF after school to binge watch gossip girl, or hear your mom call you for every meal but there are a few things you can do to overcome your pain.

1. Accept that life changes for the better and you should feel absolutely grateful to have the opportunity to study outside your hometown. Everything happens for a reason.
2. Know the time difference between you and your friend/family, the last thing you want is to call them in middle of the night and disturb their sleep. There will always be a common hour where both of you can schedule a skype/facetime call, if not everyday then maybe once a week, or even once a month.
3. Don’t define your friendship on the basis of what you see on social media. Just because your best friend does not tag you on every meme related to friendship or post instagram photos with the hashtag longdistanceBFF, it does not mean he/she has forgotten about you.
4. Don’t text them hoping they will text you back immediately. Everyone has a different routine. Don’t dishearten yourself if they don’t text you back in the first 30 seconds, leave them a message and they will reply when they can. 
5. Don’t lose yourself to FOMO(Fear of missing out). Don’t try to be a part of something you’re not physically present at, it will make you want to escape your present position and mess with your brain. Your friends and family will love you the same if you miss a social event happening 13,000 miles away. 
6. Know that you don’t have to be physically present to enjoy something. Decide upon a movie and watch it online at the same time and later discuss it with each other. 
7. Don’t talk to each other 24×7, giving each other every breathing detail is not NECESSARY. Give yourselves some space. Distance always makes the heart grow fonder. 
8. Send each other gifts. Send your BFF a postcard from your favourite store, or your girlfriend your favourite hoodie. Send care packages with a tiny note. 
9. KNOW THAT DISTANCE IS JUST A NUMBER.

Long-distance relationships sound scary, but honestly they are the most beautiful and intimate relations possible. Absolutely nothing in the world beats a warm hug from your mother when you go running to her at the airport after four months of sending virtual hugs on whatsapp and imessage. One tends to forget the value of someone when they have the privilege of seeing them everyday. 

I hope you guys can relate to this article and find the tips useful. If you have any other suggestions regarding how to make long distance relations work please let me know in the comments below. Thankyou!

x

NJ