Summer’s coming, and you know what that means! Bonfires, stargazing, ice cream trips, bike rides, baseball games, carnivals, festivals, picnics and more! (OK, maybe subtract some of those and add “work” a couple times.) But what could be better than all these endless summer activities? Having someone to do them with.

For those of you in college relationships, summer can pose a big issue for the future of it, especially if you’re both going back home. Long-distance relationships can be hard in themselves, but the summer can make them even worse. Here are a few ways you can make your summer long-distance relationship not as bad.

**1. Trust your significant other.** You absolutely need to trust your significant other while you’re in a long-distance relationship over the summer. They’re going to see people back home. More specifically, they’re going to see people they have lots of history with. You need to trust each other enough to allow yourselves to be around your exes without any problems.

**2. Stop being so jealous.** With social media, it’s easy for people to look like they’re having the time of their lives, even though inside they might be miserable. It’s even easier to be jealous of your significant other when they look like they’re having such a good time without you. Although it would be nice to spend the hottest season of the year with your honey, remember that you’ll be back with them soon enough.

**3. Communicate.** Obviously, you need to trust each other enough to not be in constant communication. Many times, people can get turned off by their significant other obsessively texting them and getting angry when they don’t receive an immediate response. However, it’s important that you keep each other updated on your lives. Texting is always a convenient way to keep in contact, but remember you don’t always get the full effect of communicating. One of you could take a text message the wrong way and cause more unnecessary problems. Plan on setting some time aside to actually call your significant other and have a legitimate conversation.

**4. Don’t control each other.** Just because you’re worried about your significant other getting hit on doesn’t give you the authority to tell them not to go out. No one is going to be happy in a relationship if they can’t have their own life. Also, no one wants to spend his or her whole summer indoors doing nothing. Let your significant other go out and have fun. You need to trust them enough to let them live their own life.

**5. Schedule time to video chat.** As completely cliché as this is, Skype dates are a real thing. Many people in long-distance relationships use video chat as a way of feeling more connected than in text or on the phone. When you schedule a Skype date, it’s something to look forward to in your relationship and keeps you thinking about each other. Video chatting is the best way to spend time with your significant other without actually being able to spend time with them.

**6. Visit each other.** Although this is obvious, it can help your relationship a lot, even if you only visit each other one time. It’s hard when everyone is busy during the summer with work, vacation and other plans, but it’s very important you find the time to make plans with your significant other.

**7. Know when it’s time to end it.** Sometimes, the summer long-distance relationship can give you enough perspective on your relationship to make you realize that it’s not the best thing for you. If it’s not working out the way you’d like it to, give yourself the strength to break it off. There’s nothing wrong with ending something if it’s not the right thing for you.