Blessing in Disguise

There are many people who look at long distance as a curse...I, however, look at it as a blessing. The fact is, love isn't a mathematical equation. Nobody strategically plans out who they are going to fall in love with or exactly how their perfect relationship is going to work out. And now, looking back at my 17 year old self that never imagined falling in love with an Italian foreign exchange student, full of fear and doubts that others would fill me with...I would tell her to look at this distance with courage, for the amount of rewards that come out of it will enrich her life with one of the most beautiful and sincere love stories that she could every possibly imagine. Yes, it's definitely a constant test of your strength, faith, fidelity, emotions, and trust in each other. Airports give a rush of ecstasy and despair every time you enter into them, and life seems to be one giant countdown to either being reunited or separated once again. You spend  most of the nights with an empty side of the bed (or with your cat in my case) in exchange for the few that you can spend warm and intertwined in your love's arms. Time zones and schedules prove a constant grueling battle to maintain talking times on a daily basis and your patience is pushed to no ends.

But you know what my response is to the numerous people who try to convince me that the distance will never work out in the end, who immediately condemn my relationship without knowing anything about us? I accept the fact that people's tendency to consistently judge others and allow them to flood me with their ideas of what's right. But inside, I laugh secretly to myself at the blatant ignorance of my peers. Because you know what? In short terms....my relationship is badass. 

Being in an international relationship has enriched my idea of the world and has opened my mind beyond the boundaries that I have been constricted to within the small American town where I grew up. The truth is..our relationship is a constant adventure. Every time we visit each other we are always learning about a culture outside of ours, and perhaps even many aspects that we didn't know about our own. We have both worked hard to become fluent in each other's languages and are now tackling new ones together. In our four years together, we have been fortunate to have the opportunity to see eight countries together and our explorations and shared captivation of this vast world continues. We are both poor college students that meander our ways into different corners of the world in the cheapest ways possible, yet still having the time of our lives. The experiences we have shared and diving into new cultures together have made us richer at our age than any grandiose amount of money ever could. Our hopes and dreams never cease; we often spend nights cuddling together and talking about our desires and dreams of the places that we would like to go together and what we want to accomplish in our lives, and we both are content with the fact that we are working out asses off in school in order to make these dreams our reality.

The beauty in having so much trust in someone so far apart is what makes me smile every singly day. Having somebody in your life that is willing to wait that far apart for that long is nothing short of one of the sweetest blessings that one could ever ask for. I am certain that he's my very best friend, and I know that no matter how many miles separate us, he's not going anywhere and neither am I. And all these years of distance and the hardships that come along with it...they are just chapters in one of the most exciting, compelling, and tender love stories ever told.

So the next time somebody tries to discourage you into getting yourself into a long distance relationship or convince you that it's not right for you, please just do your best to not fall under their negative spell. Remember that the distance is only temporary, and don't let everything that happens in between fall through your fingertips. All of these months or years that you have to endure for the distance is all working towards building an incredible foundation and everlasting appreciation for each other. It's all working up to that surreal moment where you will never have to worry about saying goodbye ever again.

 And lastly, never ever let anybody make you stop believing that you can't make your dreams a reality. If I would have believed this long ago, I would have deprived myself of a life full of endless adventures, and the fulfillment of happiness shared with the love of my life and my very best friend.