Beth Hopkins, a junior at Binghamton University, will always remember August 21, 2000. It’s the day she officially became “distant” with her high school sweetheart, Tim Swanson. He left for school in upstate New York that day and she did not see him again until October 14. And thinking back to that day, Hopkins admitted, “I really went into it blindly, there were so many questions in my head….”

She remembers the summer before college, and their decision to stay together. And she remembers the incessant worrying. Would she and Tim still be together at Thanksgiving? What was it going to be like, not seeing him everyday? Would they stay close or simply drift apart?

She admitted, “I was very apprehensive of the situation, we were both entering a completely new stage in our life and a stage that would be done without the other. We’d be off having all these great experiences without the other person and I was worried we might lose our bond.”

According to Dr. Brant Burleson, a professor of communications at Purdue University, Hopkins’ anxiety is not uncommon. “A real source of strain in a long-distance relationship is the indeterminacy factor,” said Burleson. “This uncertainty – this not knowing of where exactly the relationship is headed – can really eat away at people.”

But now, nearly two years since their tearful good-bye, Hopkins and Swanson are still together and they cherish every moment together. Hopkins won’t deny that it’s hard. “The biggest challenge is not being able to see him everyday …it’s really difficult to have a relationship over the telephone,” she said, “But web cameras are also pretty nice to have too….” she added with a wink.