Going the distance

Let’s begin by dispelling the myth that people of our age don’t understand love. ‘True Love’ is not just some mysterious realm belonging exclusively to the inner sanctums of ‘adulthood’, whatever or wherever that is. The feeling or perception of ‘love’ is just as noteworthy whether it is the feelings associated with the first encounter of your future spouse or just a crush you had for some girl you met during playtime in nursery. Relationships do very much matter to us and, to that end, long distance relationships at University can work.

Relationships, in its broadest definition, also encompass family and friends. In many ways, besides the exception of certain urges of certain parts of the anatomy, the relationship between a partner and that of between family and friends is, in principle, the same. They are, or at least should be, important people in our lives. So would you end the ‘relationship’ between your parents and closest friends on the basis of long-distance?

Take an example from the infinite bank of wisdom that is ‘How I Met Your Mother.’ Robin and Lily were on a girls’ night out, the former was getting all the attention and Lily puts it down to the fact she is wearing her engagement ring. She removes it and the guys still don’t come flocking in. Robin then tells the despondent Lily to stop worrying. Some girls in the pub might be getting attention of the male kind, but nobody in this (single-saturated) pub has got what you and Marshall have. Some things are worth fighting for.

Relationships can always be made to work, no matter where you are.

On the practical side, long-distance relationships are certainly plausible. Immigrants can keep in touch with loved ones all the way on the other side of the world. I’m sure you can manage the considerable expanse of the United Kingdom. You have the choice of texting, phone calling, E-mail, Twitter, Facebook and the fabulous Skype. You could even be different and write your loved one a letter. A healthy and rewarding relationship is built on a bit of flexibility and a whole lot of effort, it’s made easier by all of the technology that we have today.

It is those special, single moments that you cherish from relationships; the image of a certain picturesque meeting place, the flavour of a beverage that you both rather liked, or the familiar hum of a tune that you fell in love listening to. Why not add a hasty five minute phone call in-between lectures or a Skype session just before a night out to your precious box of memories? You may then find that, when the moment that you’re reunited finally arrives, you’ve fallen in love all over again.