Why long-distance relationship is a blessing in disguise

First things first, I know what you must be thinking at this point; what? How? Where on earth? The thing is, as a matter of fact, that I have been there too for the longest time until I got a, well, slightly different perspective.

Romantic relationships are a concept that I have never really been able to describe for the simple fact that they hold quite a lot that perhaps would not fit in a sentence, paragraph, or even a page.

The blooming stage when life gets just a little bit easier and brighter when they are all you can think about until the next time you see them. When you smile blushingly at random times just because they sent you something cute when your phone rings and you know it’s them calling and you feel that thing in your stomach and so forth. I could go on and on, but you get the point.

For most of us, a distance of any kind, not to mention the long-distance and especially at this stage in the relationship, is what we would consider a nightmare, to say the least. However, come to think about it, what if to a rather decent extent, maybe it’s not all that bad. Walk with me.

You get to make a conscious effort to communicate with each other—keyword: conscious. During that time, when that phone call, text message (or video call if you are lucky) is all you have, then you have no other choice than to pick up that phone. As opposed to someone dating their next-door neighbor or classmate who they literally have to see every day without making any effort at all, long-distance cultivates that culture where a conscious effort is made in getting to know the other person or just spending time with them. It is a better way to learn the other person.

Yes, I know that better is relative, but let me break it down for you.

When you have a lot of access to your significant other more so earlier on in the relationship, then naturally, you would want to take advantage of every moment to be around them. We all would, actually. However, there is a risk that comes with this, and you probably have guessed it already. Things may start moving just a little bit too fast, and in no time, you are moving in together and expecting a set of twins.

On the other hand, a long-distance relationship enables a couple to take things slow and get to know each other a whole lot better before moving on to the next stage. Think about it, the fact that you are able to hold a conversation and make it interesting every single day without seeing each other means that you are probably really interested in each other, right? You give much more appreciation to the time you spend together. By the time you get to meet, more often than not, it takes quite a lot of prior preparation.

Secondly, the mere fact that you have not had the opportunity to see your man or your girl in what feels like decades makes you long and yearn to see them. You, therefore, will be in a better position to appreciate and live in the moment with them and wish that moment never ends. See what I mean?

As compared to other types of relationships, long-distance teaches us not to take for granted the little things such as taking walks together or holding hands and cuddling for hours. You are better placed to each having separate lives outside the relationship. By this, I mean that both parties get to have their careers, families, friends et cetera, and just generally a life outside their life together if I may say so.

At the end of the day, when they get to talk and share their different experiences, it becomes more fulfilling to hear all about it and then congratulate advice and generally just help each other out. As a matter of fact, research shows that in these kinds of relationships where each of the partners have their lives going outside of their lives with each other, there is likely to be more respect and appreciation towards each other, and guess what?

Long-distance relationships provide a somewhat perfect set of conditions for this kind of growth and respect for both parties. I know that I sound like the devil’s advocate right now, but maybe long distance at some point in the relationship wouldn’t be that bad. Do you agree with me now? Yes? No?