It's a Distance.

The long distance relationship. We all know somebody who is in it, or we all at some point have experienced it ourselves. The symptoms are pretty common – panda eyes, phones that are permanently stuck in the hands, difficulty being in present reality, and excessive grinning while texting. But what are the real tolls of the LDR? Based on my extensive research, here are some common results and impact.

1.    Night becomes day, day becomes night. Life happens during the day. This causes communication via technology to come to a screeching halt, what with work, meetings, talking to other normal real people, eating and driving. Night time is when you’ll have to make up for it, by talking for hours and hours. And let’s not even go into people who are in LDRs with a different time zone. That’s just brutal.

2.    Goodbye sleep. That’s right. Remember those policies about getting at least four hours of sleep for human survival, or even eight hours to retain your beauty and health? Yeah throw that out the window. Apparently talking to your loved one over sleeping is the best choice you’ll ever make. Until the next day of course, when no amount of concealer can cover those hideous eye bags and you get on zombie mode at work.

3.    Call the phone rehab centre. Phone addiction is real, y’all. If a person is in an LDR and the phone is accidentally left at home, trust me, he or she will climb mountains, push through herds of people at the subway, and sneak out commando style out of the office just to get back home and grab that phone. Phone failure will cause severe hand trembling, disorientation in thoughts and emotional instability.

4.    There goes the savings. Long phone calls. Faster internet for Skyping. Visits. Surprise visits. Fun activities to make up for lost time. These are all wonderful things, but these wonderful things ain’t for free. It takes a bit of time to adjust with the fact that an LDR can sometimes be a bit costly. Goodbye new shoes, good chocolates and the spa. Come on, you can’t have it all!

5.    You are society’s lunch. Sometimes you will be the person without a date to events if you spouse can’t make it back home. Sometimes people will quietly suspect that your spouse is just an imaginary one you created to shut people up from wondering why you’re single. Some days you think about how wonderful it would be if you don’t have to take a walk alone. These are the common challenges that one will face, but as a wise LDR expert once told me, the hardest things in life are often the best.

It seems like I am listing a lot of downfalls here. I have always wondered why people do it if it seems really hard. But what I have failed to realise is that, it all comes down to the question of – is it worth it? The truth is, some people are worth little for, some people are worth some things for, and some people are worth everything for. If you’re clear about the choices you make and the consequences that come with them, chances are you will have little regret if it doesn’t turn out well and more regret if you didn’t even try.