I won't lie, I slightly feel like Oprah when I write this little segment and I absolutely love it. A little secret: it has always been a dream of mine to become a talk-show host. How fun would that be? Loads and loads of fun. For now I'm sticking to the blog and talking just you and me which is just as fun :)
Today on Coffee Talk Tuesday we are talking long distance. What is long distance to you? An hour's drive? Different states? Across the nation? Maybe even different countries?
I have had the pleasure, yes pleasure, to experience all of the above. My life from a very young age has consisted of long distance relationships. In 2002 my dad moved to the United States. What was supposed to be a couple of months long legal process of my mom, my brother and I migrating to the U.S. turned into two and a half years of wait. My long distance began when I was 4 years old. We spoke to my dad everyday over webcam for two and a half years.
2003 Last Christmas while living back home
Finally being reunited with my dad as a family in 2004 was when the long distance really began. Our entire family (grandmother, aunts, cousins) were back in South America and we would not know how long until we saw them again. Back then of course there was barely any social media and I recall having to buy special calling cards to call back home. Thanks to social media and things like FaceTime and Facebook it is now it is much easier to communicate. We even have our own group chat on WhatsApp where everyone writes in everyday. Yes, everyday.
2004. My elementary school performance after being in the states for 2 short months.
Fast forward from 2002 to sixth and seventh grade meeting my best friends Katherine and Madison. Madison and I attended the same school and met at carpool in seventh grade. We immediately clicked and became the best of friends. At the end of that year Madison, who I created my first YouTube channel with, moved to Atlanta, Georgia two hours away. Katherine and I met in 6th grade. While we didn't click instantly we certainly did afterwards. For those of you who have been around long enough, Katherine was the one who had the channel with me (the same one Madison and I created. A little confusing, I know). The summer after 9th grade, Katherine moved to Nashville, TN. I was now a sophomore in high school with my two very best friends living at least a two hours drive away. Long distance had stricken me again.
2013 At Katherine's surprise goodbye party.
There have been many other areas in my life that have been based on long distance. Many of the people I love have been in other states and other countries from a young age. And while to many that may seem a drag, it has actually become one of the coolest things to happen to me.
And this is where it all gets happy. Long distance has taught me to appreciate family beyond what I could have ever appreciated if I had them close to me. I had to wait 7 years to go home and see my family and it was an incredible experience. Talking on the phone (or on a really crappy webcam) was the only way to communicate with them but through each phone call and unsuccessful Skype calls I learned that having people you love around you doesn't mean that they have to be around you physically. You can be completely surrounded by love in your life yet that love is nowhere near you but instead it's all over the globe.
2013 Movie nights back home.
Going home now is an experience that I look forward to so much because it's the little moments that distance makes you miss. Like sitting down and having coffee with your cousins, or simply going to the grocery store with your aunt. This goes the same for my close friendships who are far away. They will tell you just like I do, distance has made us grow closer. It has made us appreciate each other and the moment we can have together even if its just half a day or meeting for lunch. Distance has taught me to appreciate the tiniest little moments in life.
2014 Visiting Katherine in Nashville
2014 Madison visiting Birmingham
2015
2015
I have been home 4 times now and each times I find more and more things to appreciate that I didn't before. I went back for the first time in 2011 and made unforgettable memories with my friends and family. I then went again twice in the summer and Christmas of 2013. That was an incredible year as it was not only my first ever Christmas back but also the first time my brother and my mom were able to go back. And finally most recently in June and July of 2015.
2015 Happiness of traveling back home
2013 Reunited after nearly 10 years
2013 First Christmas back home
2011 First time going back home
Long distance also has it's downside. Especially living in a town where most people know each other and have grown up with their friends and family close all their lives. Sometimes it can get lonely. Sometimes months and maybe years go by before you can see your best friend or your favorite cousin. You miss big holidays without your family. You miss birthdays. You miss big life moments. And it's incredible difficult. But again, it makes you appreciate every single moment of life when you are reunited with the people you missed the most.
2015 My cousin Cristina and I this past June.
Long distance has taught me one thing is that it's worth it. Yes there are countless times that frustration sets in and all you want to do is be able to call that person up for lunch and be able to go just like that, easy. Ofcourse it gets annoying when you have to drive 4 hours or fly on multiple planes in order to get and see those people but the moment you finally get to see them again is totally worth it.
Are you struggling to keep a long distance relationship? I found a fun and helpful post from the Huffington Post on maintaining long distance friendships and relationships.
Have you had to deal with long distance before? I want to hear your experience!
Thanks for joining me on today's talk!
Until next chat.
XoXo
Mariana
Posts
Post a Comment
Leave me a comment!