One of my good friends here at school knows that Alan and I are apart right now. She knows all about our relationship. How we met online four years ago and have been on and off, but all of that has just made us stronger now. She knows how much I love him, and that I pray that I will be able to spend the rest of my life with him. She also knows that right now I'm not able to have any communication with him for three weeks.

Today, she asked me how much longer until I would be able to hear from him again. I told her I had 15 more days and that I had my first breakdown yesterday. I told her that I just miss him so incredibly much. This was her response, "Awww, I'm sorry. You inspire me so much though, as strong as you have been throughout everything. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be to not hear from the man you love everyday. So you definitely deserve to be upset."

Those words from her meant more to me than she'll ever know. I haven't felt very strong lately, so this was definitely nice to hear. I didn't go into this relationship expecting people to tell me this kind of thing. I don't expect girls who haven't been through this to understand. But hearing that from her made me feel so much better.

I just wanted to share this with all of you. I hope you ladies realize how strong you are, and that other people are taking notice. Don't give up, we're all one day closer to seeing our SO. And that makes it all worth it!