Long distance woes

So I have been in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend since June, so two months. And while I am most definitely no expert in the field of LDRs, being 2500 miles away from Aurélien has led to find out a few things.

You can bet your bottom dollar that when I initially came home from France I was googling tips on how to make a long distance relationship work, you know, like any normal girl would.  I was overwhelmed with amount of people and articles written on how to make it work.

At first, I really took these to heart; in my mind, if I didn't skype with Aurélien everday then my relationship was doomed. However, after days and weeks of reading, I realized that me trying to do all of these things wasn't working, I had to do what felt right for myself.

That's when I stopped trying to have the same relationship as others. I wasn't them, and they aren't me so why would what worked for them necessarily work for me?

Some of the most common "rules" are:

- You have to make time to skype or talk at least 5 times a week.

First of all, I am a busy person. I work full time and I have other commitments that don't necessarily give me a lot of flexibility, and A is the same way. And more to the point, he doesn't really enjoy skyping. We do skype, of course, but maybe not as often as we "should." And I really am ok with that. We talk everyday via texting, and even if we don't, all I need is a simple "je t'aime" to feel ok.

- There has to be an end point in mind

This was the one that really got me. I still have schooling left and so does he. While I would love to right now just pack up and move back to France permanently, it's not possible, financially or otherwise. And neither of us are willing to give up our own aspirations at the moment, and why should we? He's 22 and I'm 24, I don't know where my life is going to take me but at the moment I'm happy he's a part of it. Don't get me wrong, the physical distance REALLY sucks but you make do I think this rule puts so much pressure on LDRs. I already have a trip planned to go back and visit in October, but beyond that I don't know. But I do know that I love him.

Another aspect of distance is your friends. Mine are super supportive and want to listen, which is awesome. However, what I don't like is if they are separated from their significant other for a while, they are like "oh well I don't know what real distance is because my boyfriend isn't on the other side of the world." Sure maybe he's closer, but I don't want to belittle my friend's feelings because my situation is different. They are allowed to feel whatever they want.

Anyway, I guess all I'm really trying to say in this long winded post is that what works for some couples won't always work for you. You and your partner need to find a common ground and make it work. Some people might think that you're not doing enough, but in the end, it's your relationship not theirs.

Picture this

Oh hello there. Monday is here again, and usually I don't mind them (tuesdays are the worst imo), today was spectacularly awful. Absolutely NOTHING was working for me at work and it made the day drag on.

BUT YOU KNOW, such is life.

Today's Blog Everyday in July prompt is:  3 Pictures - Share your favorite pictures. 1 of anything, 1 you took, and 1 selfie. So let's get this party thing started!

1. Picture of anything

When we went to Port Aventura, a theme park in Barcelona you could get a yard of beer. A YARD for three euros. We decided it would be best to get buzzed before going on all the scary rides so we wouldn't be so frightened but not drunk enough that we would throw up. You would be surprised at how well this logic worked out. 

2. Picture I took

This is the Lennon wall in Prague. People come every day and paint new things on it. You can paint whatever you want! Song lyrics, sayings, drawings ANYTHING. It was a really cool and different thing to see, and some of the quotes people left were really insightful and meaningful for me at the time, and still are. Prague is a beautiful city and you should visit it if you ever have the chance!

3. A selfie

Taken the day after I got home from France. It was definitely bittersweet, but now it's mostly just bitter because I see all these other people traveling in Europe and it's making me really jealous. I'll get back over there at some point.

Well thanks for stopping by on this Monday! Only four more sleeps until Friday!

Later taters.

Long time no post

So I kinda sorta completely fell off the blogging wagon. I guess I deemed my life not interesting enough for people to want to read, without really realizing that at least I would be able to look back on what happened and laugh, even if no one else is laughing with me.

ANYWHO. Since my last post here I spent 5 amazing months living in France and travelling around Europe during an exchange program with my university. It was amazing. This time going away was a bit different because I wasn't going with someone I really knew. The girl I lived with I had worked with for about 3 weeks and that was it. So I was basically moving in with a stranger in a new country in a different language.

Safe to say, even though there were ups and downs, I had the time of my life.

I became the typical tourist:

Those are only a few. I managed to get to Amsterdam, Rome, Venice, Cinque Terre, Barcelona, Athens, London, Lyon, Paris, Prague and couple of smaller cities and towns in France. There wasn't enough time (or money because let's be honest I was buying at least one dress and more than one bottle of wine during each trip) to visit everywhere but I think I definitely made the most of my time there!

Oh yeah, I was also in school there but like, travelling, am I right?

I also managed to snag myself a French man

who I am beyond excited to go back and visit in October. 

As of right now, I am back home doing the 9-5, monday- friday life. It's not awful, I mean it's going to take me a while to get back into the habit of waking up any time before noon. It's good but extremely bittersweet to be back home. I am super happy to be back with my friends and family but I definitely miss the french life!

I think that's it for this update. I guess I should do some work.