Every time I see those too-cute couples walking through campus or cuddling in Racy’s, I find myself fighting the overwhelming urge to punch them in the face.

No offense, but they don’t know how easy they have it.

My boyfriend and I have been together for nearly a year and a half and a large amount of our time together has been spent apart. We both decided it would be best to go our separate ways during college, even if that meant being eight hours apart for the majority of the year.

When people my age learn the details of my relationship status, they generally look at me with pity in their eyes and an expression that screams, “Why would you do that to yourself?”

They think my time at college is ruined. According to the majority of my peers, I am sacrificing my “crazy college years” for a relationship that will surely end in heartbreak.

These people pose a valid question. Shouldn’t I want to spend my time at college unencumbered by my virtual boyfriend? Isn’t it annoying to have to integrate Skype dates into my busy college schedule?

The answer is no. Long-distance relationships get a bad rep for the most part, but through my experience I have learned they surprisingly aren’t all that bad.

Being in a long-distance relationship is great for a plethora of reasons:

I always have someone to call when I have three papers due in one week and I feel like my brain might explode. My boyfriend always listens with great interest when I tell him everything about my day, even when I describe my lunch in vivid detail. Sometimes we even spend hours on the phone discussing the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Maybe I’m just really lucky, but I love being in a long-distance relationship.

Of course, things aren’t always great. Long-distance relationships require a lot of work, creating plenty of room for stress and conflict. And yes, I get pretty bummed out when I think too hard and realize we won’t see each other for another two months.

Even so, all that is worth it for the feeling I get when I see him again for the first time in months. It’s like falling in love all over again, or something super gross and cliche like that.

For those of you who think being in a long-distance relationship means I sit at home alone every night waiting for a text from my boyfriend or checking off the days until our romantic reunion, remember I am still living college to the fullest.

College hasn’t been ruined for me because I have to Skype my boyfriend a couple times a week, and I definitely don’t feel tied down or robbed of my college experience.

To everyone out there wary of starting a long-distance relationship, keep an open mind. It’s not as scary as you think.