Students find ways to make long distance relationships work

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As if the stress of managing school, work and a relationship isn’t enough, try adding another component to the mix: distance.

For numerous students on campus, this is a reality. Couples in long-distance relationships are faced with challenges that other students do not have to deal with.

Stockbridge freshman Jacqueline Fillmore has been dating her boyfriend, Zach Olson, for almost two years. Zach attends the Michigan Institute of Aviation and Technology in Canton.

“I’ve only been doing the long-distance thing for a month, but it’s already kind of difficult,” Fillmore said. “It’s hard to go from seeing someone pretty often to only seeing him when both of our schedules are free.”

DeWitt sophomore Andrew Stow has been with his girlfriend Carly Leppala for two and a half years and the pair has overcome long distance challenges once before.

“We were together last year, too,” Stow said. “I was a little worried about our relationship in the beginning, but we’ve worked everything out.”

A member of ROTC on campus, Stow has committed at least eight years of his life to the Army once he graduates the program.

“The way I see it, being long-distance now prepares us for the possibility of me getting deployed and us being apart for longer periods of time in the future,” he said.

Saginaw freshman Dan Ahrens and his girlfriend Amanda Depelesmaeker, who attends Michigan State University, have been dating for 11 months.

“We Skype almost every night and text throughout the day,” Ahrens said. “We also talk on the phone whenever possible.”

Ahrens said technology cannot always make up for physical proximity.

“Sometimes, you just need a hug to know everything’s alright and, being long distance, you can’t always get that,” Ahrens said. “I have to rely on texts or phone calls to communicate instead.”

All three couples said communication is especially important when dealing with long distance relationships.

“We really have to make sure we understand what the other is saying because texting really can’t convey emotions the way a face-to-face talk can,” Fillmore said.

Long-distance couples face challenges different than most relationships do, and it takes effort from both sides to make it work.

“Being long-distance definitely makes our relationship stronger,” said Fillmore. “It tests if we care about each other enough to stay together even though we don’t see each other often.”