The Perks of Being in a Long Distance Relationship

A photo of us just a few days before we began our long distance relationship.

I've been in a long distance relationship for a few months short of a year, and it's definitely been rough. My boyfriend and I discovered that going from spending time together daily to seeing each other only a few times a year is excruciating. It can be even tougher to begin your relationship from a distance - my old roommate started dating her boyfriend while he lived across the country after they were introduced by a mutual friend, and they just celebrated their four-year anniversary.

Long distance relationships come from all sorts of backgrounds. Though your circumstances may be different from mine, and even though sometimes you'll absolutely hate the situation you're in, LDRs are actually pretty special. The difficult circumstances that they bring might provide you both with a challenge, but it's up to the two of you to rise to the occasion. If you can get through a long distance relationship together, you can get through any other troubles that come your way.

I wrote an entire post last month dedicated to surviving a long distance relationship, which focuses a lot on how to get by without each other. However, one of the most important things to remember when it comes to your LDR is that it's not all that bad. There are good things that come from long distance relationships. Really, there are. Here are a few of them.

7 Ways to be Productive When You Really Don't Feel Like It

Have you ever had a lot of work to do, but absolutely no motivation to do it? In times like these, being productive isn't always easy. If you're like me, your first instinct might be to stop doing work altogether. When I had a lot of work to do in college and no time to do it in, I would lie down on the floor pathetically until I had a game plan figured out.

Don't be like me. No really, don't. For the sake of your sanity (and mine), here are 7 ways to be productive when you really, really don't want to be.

15 Things To Do In 2015

Happy New Year, everyone! The new year is not only a great time to reflect on who you are and what you'd like to become, but it's also a great time to expand your horizons and try new things. If you're looking for some new things to do in 2015, try one of these fifteen suggestions below.

Reading this in 2016? Click here for some friendly affirmations for yourself in 2016!

Create the life you want. (It's easier than you'd think!)

We live in the age of the internet, and the "if it's not perfect, it's not worth sharing" mentality runs rampant. Having such stylized lives thrown in our faces on Pinterest, Instagram, and other blogs can be discouraging, especially when we realize that our lives don't live up to the standards we glean from others (and that they probably never will).

As the end of December draws near and we're all expected to create New Years' Resolutions, it's easy to become overwhelmed and discouraged. The truth is, you're not going to instantly change into a new person with a picturesque life on January 1st, and that's perfectly fine. However, it is possible to create some better habits and to ultimately achieve the improved life you've always wanted to live. Sound contradictory? It isn't, I promise. It's all about the baby steps... 

How to survive a Long Distance Relationship

Long distance relationships are hard. It can be tough when the one you love is so far away that your only ways of communication happen over technology. Even if you have other things to keep you preoccupied, the unsettling feeling that you can't be with your special person comes creeping back in. Whether you're in a long distance relationship while on a break from school or for the forseeable future, here are six things that you'll need to learn in order to get by.

The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Earlier this week, as members of my family started coming home for Thanksgiving, I sat on the couch next to my sister agonizing over a blog post. One post in particular had been bothering me all day: I couldn't take any photos that looked right, my camera's battery pack died, and I was running out of time to post something that day. "I can't post this yet," I grumbled. "It's not good enough."

"Don't you know that the perfect is the enemy of the good?"

For when you're feeling stuck...

It's easy to feel stuck in life sometimes. We live in the age of the newsfeed, and we're often bombarded with the exciting news of promotions, new jobs, engagements, and even babies. It's easy to feel inadquate when there's nothing exciting to report on your end. Whether you're feeling stuck because you're unemployed, underemployed, or you just wish you were at a different place in your life right now, here are some ideas to get you going again.