How To Survive A Long Distance Relationship!

!!!!PLEASE SKIP TO THE BOTTOM IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ!!!!

I'll start with my story:

My relationship started on March 3, 2012. (I was 15, boyfriend was 14 at the time). We were friends and started to talk before we ever had a thing for each other (although he claims he had a crush on me). I honestly didn't like him when we first met for the very first time. I thought he was some "lying fake". But I did end up getting to know him and such, and we finally wanted to give "us" a shot. I didn't like him the same way at first, I was only just getting over an 11 month relationship I had. Yes, obviously, I did end up loving him as much as I do today.

I live in St. Charles, Missouri, and he lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Yes, that is a big jump, no I'm not going to go through a story of how we met (That could be for another topic, honestly). Through these 2.4 years of dating him, we have Skyped every night unless we absolutely couldn't. We did do face cams when I thought I was in for them, and yes, it is very fun to do that.

But our relationship is different than most, which is okay because I understand. His friends and family don't know about me yet. Yes, I've talked to him, yelled at him, guilt tripped him, plenty of times but through all of that I finally understand. He just doesn't want to be "made fun of" from his friends and he doesn't like discussing his private life to his parents. My parents and friends know about him, and we're actually going to see each other next summer! Although I have met his friends and played video games with them, they just don't know about my boyfriend and I.

We've had rough times, we do argue sometimes like an "old married couple", but in the end we're very very happy with each other. We did go through a "we don't talk about that" phase, which I won't talk about because it's almost way too personal.

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Here's the advice:

1. Even if you are a few cities away, a few states/provinces away, or even ocean(s) apart, COMMUNICATE! I personally use Skype for this, but you may choose whatever you want. (PERSONAL EXPERIENCE)
2. Let your friends know of this relationship! They could give you tips and/or help you through certain situations!
3. You need a lot of patience, because you aren't always to get what you expect. It takes a lot of time to do things!
4. Have activities to do with each other. In example, Online-Video Games, Word games over the phone, or possibly even some Gossip!
 

That's as much as I can think of. If you have suggestions, tips, or even questions and your own stories, please let me know! I'll be happy to answer you!