The Struggles of Distance

By: Corinne Otto

For the last 7 months, I've been interested in a guy. We have almost everything in common, and are technically considered dating. There is a big problem though, and the problem stretches 651 miles. I live here, in Philadelphia, PA, and he lives down south, in Ridgeville, South Carolina. I've never considered doing this, and never felt I had the strength to. Many people tell me "why waste your time? You can meet someone here!" "That's stupid, and isn't safe! How do you even know they're real?!" I'd like to inform everyone about how one does this. Why waste my time? Who's wasting time? If a person is happy, and doesn't mind waiting something out to be with another person, is it really considered wasting your time? Is anything safe these days? Sure the internet, especially, isn't safe to meet people on. However, if you are careful, and don't give anyone your personal information, I don't see what's wrong. I feel as long as you use your common sense -- here's hoping everyone has some -- there shouldn't be a big problem. The worst question I get is "how do you even know they're real" or "how do you know it's really them" um... I don't think people realize the people they're dating could be as fake as they think my relationship with this guy is. You never can be too sure of the person you're with. IT IS CALLED TRUST & COMMUNICATION, PEOPLE!

A person can meet someone in a bar and go home with them the same night, then tell me they "know" them. I've been talking to the same person, via texts, phone calls, email, letters, and Skype (webcam) for over 7 months, and I don't "know" him because we've never physically met. I find it ridiculous. How do you get to know someone? By talking to them, right? Don't we consider texting, phone calls, and everything I just mentioned talking? It annoys me when someone, who barely knows me to begin with, can tell me with a straight face "you're dumb, you don't know them."

There are so many people, around the world, who engage in long distance relationships. Though it IS very hard, there are ways to cope. Obviously, texting and calling each other is one way to ease the loneliness. If someone and their significant other live in different countries, those can be costly, so a downloadable, FREE, program (Skype, Oovoo, Facetime) are very helpful! You can physically see each other and hear each other's voices, etc. So it's almost like being right there with them. Personally, this helps me a lot. You can also save money to visit each other. It's definitely not impossible. If you don't believe JUST HOW MANY people do this, you should read posts from this blog, "Long Distance Stories."
http://longdistancestories.tumblr.com/
You'd be surprised how many people post, from all over the world, and who are successful. There are also so many stories of people finally meeting, moving in with one another, and eventually getting married! It's incredible, and very inspiring.

If you are, or know anyone who is in a long distance relationship, know that IS possible, and IS worth it, if you're both happy. You don't have to explain it to people who refuse to understand. Your real friends will be happy that you're happy. I hope everyone has a better understanding of situations like this now!