They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and nothing could be closer to the truth.

We spent months apart. He would be in the US; I'd be in the Philippines. Sometimes we didn't even know when we'd see each other again. Sometimes I'd go on vacations in the US and he'd fly from California.

The time we were apart was a very difficult phase in our relationship. Seldom do relationships survive after being apart. More often than not, couples give up and break up. Nobody told us it was easy. Nobody told us it would work. Everybody was telling us we were crazy for being in a long-distance relationship.

We could've taken the easy road and broken it off. Went out again, dated around, found a new person. But then, we would always have the "what-if" in our minds, wondering what would've happened had we not given up.

Instead we took the hard road and continued. Tearful phone conversations. Sad letters. Lovingly wrapped care packages. Skyrocketing phone bills. Endless phone cards. Lengthy emails.

Love doesn't happen very often. It takes two to make or break that relationship. If the two of you continue working on it, then you'll succeed. If one gives up, the other person either carries the weight of making the relationship work, or just breaks down from the pressure of it.

You either choose to stay or you choose to go. You choose to continue or you choose to end.

There were times that giving up seems the easiest solution, but we opted to continue believing.