I was in a Long Distance Relationship for nearly two years and it took me quite a while to change my perception to a positive one. Eventually, I learned how to enjoy life, despite having my other half 2400 miles away.

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9 Things I LOVED about my long distance relationship (and what you can, too):

1. You Have Time For Friends

You will have time for dinners, parties, walks in the park, gossip sessions, endless phone talks, weekend getaways, holidays with your friends, etc. Do it all and enjoy, because your priorities will be different when you finally close the distance. Focus on building strong relationships with your friends that will last even, if you end up moving away from them.

2. You Have Time For Your Family

Studying, friends and lovers tend to take majority of our time when you’re young. Use the extra time you have to reconnect with your family and/or pay them visits more often.

Though, I was living abroad and didn’t have time to physically be with my family, I was always able to Skype with them! Having less physical adventures with your lover open up additional time that should be spread around to all the ones you love.

3. You Can Learn Something New

Do not get stuck to your phone trying to talk to your sweetheart all the time. Instead, look for a new hobby or get back into an old, but forgotten one.

I was quite negative about this point before. I wanted as much “us” time as we could get… But eventually all the evenings I had to myself gave me a new love for yoga which improved my night sleep, flexibility and mood!

4. You Have Time For Solo-Travelling

You’re most likely to spend the majority of your holidays to meet your sweetheart and see new places with them (at least I did!), but don’t forget the pleasure of solo-travelling. Use your weekends for discovering places nearby, meeting new people and sharing experiences with local friends and family.

5. You Become More Patient

There will times when your SO can’t answer your messages because they might be busy or you will have a big time difference. There will be times when you will have arguments and won’t talk for days (which will feel like months). Or maybe you will go through times when you fight yourself to get back on a positive path again. All these experiences will make you understand and respect other’s feelings. These difficulties allow you to practice more patience with your partner when you end up closing the distance.

6. You Learn To Forgive

Arguments in distant relationships are much tougher and tend to last longer than the ones when being physically together. When things feel tense, you can’t just go and give your lover a super strong hug that simply brings all the broken pieces back into the place. Distance arguments also have a higher risk of developing into bigger arguments if you text a lot- as some of you probably know, it’s way too easy to have a miscommunication via text.

You will learn that there is no space for meaningless arguments- you need to let the small misunderstandings go.

7. You Become More Understanding

You will learn to listen and understand that your other half (or even just other people in general) might be having a bad day, just as you sometimes do. After being in an LDR for an extended period of time, you’ll think about yourself less and be more compassionate.

8. You Give And Receive Support

Being in a long distance relationship for a long time is risky because environments change people- there is a possibility that your partner moves away and you start growing apart.

There is nothing more important than the comforting feeling of knowing that your other half is your biggest supporter, critic, fan and are always ready to listen, give you advice and a push forward, if needed.

9. You Cherish The Moments You Do Have Together

I remember flying from India to the South of Thailand, with an eight-hour layover at Bangkok airport because I had a chance to spend 34 hours with my boyfriend. We nearly spent more time traveling to see each other than the time we had together! So worth it, though!

You will find yourself doing much more than you thought you would do, just for the chance of spending time with your partner. All those illogical decisions you make because you want to meet and the time or money you spend for flight/bus/train tickets will actually make you laugh years later when remembering it…. you did it because those moments spent together are priceless. You will cherish them in the moment and years later!