Distance

"The problem isn't distance. Two people could be separated by the span of continents and still be held strongly together, two people might be physically entangled every moment yet still have doubts about their placement with each other" - Unknown


Distance, a word that typically, when paired with "long" tends to strike fear in the hearts of people. I mean, who would want to have a close friend, colleague or lover be on the other side of the world, kept away from them for large portions of time, never having the comfort of a physical presence nearby? Not many I would assume. When someone dear to us has to leave the country, or move schools, houses or simply relocate for that matter, we are filled with dread, especially if it is a childhood friend or someone we have spent large portions of time with and it hurts, it hurts so much to see someone like that just...move away from you because we got so accustomed to their presence. We get attached to their jokes, laughs, advice, so much time spent with someone allows us to enjoy being around them so much that it often physically and mentally
aches to watch them leave.

Isn't that so? I'm sure all of you have had a moment where you've had to say goodbye to someone close, had to hold in tears and emotion as you watch them enter the car, bus, train or airport, not knowing the next time you might meet them. It changes you as a person as well. You start to realize how short a time you have with everyone and you start cherishing the time you have with others more because you now know that it is impossible to tell when someone may have to leave. In essence, it is a horrible feeling, to have to part ways with someone you had dreams with, having to let go of those images you had in your mind of vivid and joyous futures together, laughing and joking, just as you used to.

It often separates us, not just physically but emotionally. It is something I always find...in some way shape or form, wrong about society. People often say that trying to hold a relationship with a friend that is living far away from you is a difficult thing and that it shouldn't be held on to because it "probably won't last". It's not a good mindset to have. Trust me in the end, what separates two people that used to be extremely close isn't actually distance, but each individual's need and want to hold the relationship together.

If you really want to stay friends with someone you've known for a long time, you will obviously try and keep contact with them, manage however you can because you still value them and you want to hold on to the friendship that you created as best as possible. It's come to a point in the world where people immediately assume that just because there is a distance between two people, it is quite impossible to hold a friendship. Yes, it does "work out" if you actually try to make it work. A bond only fails when you let it break when you stop trying to hold that bond together, no matter how close you are physically. It will not matter because, in your mind, you don't want to hold on to it.

Distance is not what separates people, it is our will and needs to hold the bond that grows weak and ends up in friends and lovers growing apart. Patience is an important factor in situations such as these. You need to...believe that one day you will get to meet the said person(s) again, it starts with you. Make a phone call every now and then, arrange a voice chat or just simply text the person once or twice a day, it does not take much time and it will ensure that time passing between your friends, even in different time zones do not affect the emotional bond as much because even if they are not always physically there, the PERSON, their personality can still be transferred through a screen or simply through their voice. Believe in the bonds you have built, they are not broken that easily. To be honest they are hardly "broken", what usually happens is that both parties just decide to "let go".

Don't let friends become just a memory. Down the path, you will look back and you will hope that you would have kept your friends when you were still close, and you will be filled with regret. Trust me the feeling of overwhelming nostalgia is all too familiar to me and it does not feel pleasant. Have hope, trust that one day you will have what you dreamt of having, our power, while it may not be "supernatural" relies on being able to believe in what may not initially look possible and turn it into a reality. Nothing is out of reach as long as we do not give in. Your will is the only thing that stands between you and your hopes, as long as YOU believe, the world will be inclined to provide.

"The distance between us doesn't matter, as long as I find you at the end of this road"

Hyungyong Kim