Long distance sucks. No one wants to be separated from the people, places and things they love. However, sometimes we have to. Whether it’s due to school, work or just life, eventually almost everyone does long distance in some capacity. Here are my five tips and tricks for making long distance more manageable for friends, family and partners.
1: Save the sentimental stuff!
All of the little knick-knacks, cards, notes, trinkets and more. Save them. It’s not clutter on your desk, it’s a tangible embodiment of memories. We live in a world where minimalism is highly encouraged. My room is a time capsule of knick-knacks and sentimental “stuff” from all of the people I love, the places I’ve visited and the versions of myself I’ve been. Save the cards your family writes you. Save the little things. That way, when you’re alone and missing the pieces that make up “home,” there’s a little piece of all of them with you.
2: Utilize technology
We live in a world where almost everyone and everything is accessible at our fingertips! This isn’t always possible, like if your partner is deployed, obviously you can’t exactly FaceTime them whenever you want to rant. However, if you can, plan FaceTime dates or watch a movie at the same time and text your reactions. Find ways to use technology to your advantage to stay in the loop and stay connected!
3: Rose, bud and thorn
My two best friends and I do long distance across the east coast. Virginia, Rhode Island and Maryland. All of us have crazy, hectic lives and it’s hard to find ways to keep each other updated. We recently started doing rose, bud and thorn to talk about our days. Rose means something good that happened, bud stands for something you’re looking forward to and your thorn is something bad or unpleasant that happened. It’s a quick, fun way we all end our day.
4: Plan, plan, plan
If you plan ahead the next time you get to visit or see them, you’ll have something to look forward to. Sometimes all we need is that little motivation to count down the days. My best friends and I have very different schedules, especially academic calendars. One of my best friends lives permanently in Rhode Island, so coordinating all of our schedules together is hard, but possible. If you want the plans to make it out of the group chat, do it! It’s possible! Plan ahead and give yourself that little bit of excitement to help get through the day.
5: Know it’s okay to let go
Some of you may not want to hear this, but you probably should. It’s okay to let people and places go. If you find yourself struggling to just want to keep in touch or visit or if you are the only one putting in effort, then maybe it’s time to table that part of your life and focus on the now. This doesn’t always mean end things! If you want to make it work, it’s absolutely possible. You have to really want it though. Know that it’s okay to let things go that aren’t able to grow with you.
Long distance is hard, but it’s not impossible. Find ways to communicate and stay in touch. Find ways to make your people and places feel appreciated and know it’s not forever. Time keeps marching on and one day you’ll be reunited in some shape or form.
