Blog Post #2: Distance Makes the Heart Grow Stronger

The funny thing about long-distance relationships is the unexpected upsides. When I tell people I’m dating someone hundreds of miles away, I’m usually met either with general support and interest, or with questions as to why I wouldn’t simply find someone closer to me. And while I would appreciate it if my partner lived closer to me, I wouldn’t change anything about my relationship right now. For one, I get to experience falling in love all over again every time I see him. And each time we meet, I find that we’ve both changed and grown in different ways. We get to experience the beauty of growing on our own, of making friends in our respective areas, while still being able to connect over the phone or text when we want to. If I’ve had a bad day, I always have someone to talk to right in my pocket. My long-distance relationship has also made me particularly good at waiting. All I can do is trust the process, and before I know it, we are reunited once again. I also find something beautiful in knowing I have the strength and vulnerability to be in a relationship where I will inevitably miss my partner. To love someone even though they don’t live in the same city takes courage. The tale of a long-distance relationship is a story that one might also live if they have family in a different country, best friends in different cities, and so on. Growing up, I frequently watched my mom video call her twin sister, who lives in China. They text each other every day on WeChat, staying connected even though they live about as far apart as they could on this planet. Love can’t be taken away by distance. Love can’t even be taken away by death. I was attending a concert recently, dedicated to the late Martin Luther King Jr. He died in 1968, and yet I was able to sit in a full performance hall in 2025 listening to people sing about him. So I say, cheers to the long-distance relationships, whether they span hundreds of miles or thousands, decades or centuries.