It has to be conceded that being in a long-distance relationship whilst at Uni is pretty contradictory to the student stereotype.

For starters, we are supposed to be unbelievably lazy. The I-can’t-be-bothered-to-get-out-of-bed-even-though-I-need-the-loo kind. The kind that wonders how you ever made it out of bed for school, given that now 9am is an unreasonably early start. The kind that would choose to use their weekend catching up on sleep rather than travelling 5 hours on the delectable Megabus to visit someone.

But more importantly I think, students aren’t seen as being the kind of people who are or should be ‘tied-down’, for want of a better phrase. We are supposed to be experimenting, being outrageous and figuring out who we are. Being committed to someone on the other side of the country is a bit, well, boring. Adults do stuff like that. And adults are boring.

So when it comes up in conversation that I have a boyfriend living in London, I sometimes can’t help but feel people think I’ve resigned myself to a second-rate Uni experience by making the decision to stay with him. No exciting, random hook-ups. Extra travel costs. The general stress of keeping them as much a part of your life as they used to be when you’ve got about a million other things to think about.

But for myself and I’m sure for many other students, it doesn’t feel like that. On the whole, it does work. If you love your boyfriend/girlfriend enough and you’re alright with being slightly poorer, more stressed and less sexually experienced than your fellow students, then it’s an awesome, albeit slightly different, first-rate Uni experience.

Personally, I’ve found Skype to be an absolute god-send. You can see your loved one’s face while you chat! They are basically there!  I honestly don’t know how any long-distance couple pre-2003 managed to stay together without it. And what with the back-up of Facebook, Twitter and so on, these days you could never reasonably use the excuse of ‘it’s too hard to keep in contact’ for dumping someone. With all this modern technology, the whole long-distance experience is definitely improved.

And I would argue that actually, long-distance relationships mean you get the best of both worlds. You have a relationship, but the distance gives you independence- the chance to have a jam-packed social life, join societies and make new friends. And when you do get to see your other half, you definitely appreciate it more.

So I would say that even though long-distance relationships definitely aren’t the norm for students, they shouldn’t be considered a hindrance to having a great time at University. You’re still getting drunk, going out, making new friends, working hard (hopefully) – you just have someone waiting for you at the other end of all that.