My boyfriend and I are still in college, so we're still in that unsettled phase of life. We have to kind of go where the work is and where our families are. This summer, he had a job at a theatre in one state, and I was visiting family in another. So for about 13 weeks, our relationship was text messages, Skype calls, and other forms of long distance communication. If you've been in a situation where you're apart for an extended period of time, you know that it can either make or break a relationship. Yes, I know that 13 weeks is nothing for some people, but cut us some slack. We're young.

But more than just maintaining a relationship, how do you stay intimate when your partner is thousands of miles away? How do you have sex without actually having sex? It's not easy and you really have to get creative. Here are some ways that my boyfriend and I used that kept our sex life alive while we were apart:

1) Send cute, sexy, or even dirty text messages. Not only does it let your significant other know that you're thinking about them, but lets them know that you still want them. A simple "I'm not wearing any underwear ;)" can go a long way.

2) Hot, descriptive chat conversations. You'd be surprised at how much you can turn your partner on by just describing what you want to do to them in a chat message. And it goes both ways. Chat back and forth about detailed fantasies and sexual desires. Sure it might stir up a little sexual frustration because you can't touch them, but there's an easy way to handle that.

3) Masturbation. C'mon, people. You've got to give yourself a little relief. Seriously, don't feel embarrassed. If you have sex frequently, then it's weird to go a few days, let alone a month without getting off. So go ahead and take care of that. You don't want to be walking around completely sexually frustrated for months, trust me.

4) Skype sex. When we had privacy, we would have Skype sex. Basically watching each other touch ourselves via web cam. Kind of like watching live porn, but it stars your favorite person. I really only recommend this for people that have a lot of privacy. We were only able to accomplish this a couple of times because of a lack of privacy.

5) Sexy letters via snail mail. I know, it's old school, but there's something very intimate about writing letters to each other. You can even throw in some sexy pictures if you want. Imagine opening a handwritten letter from the person you love and reading all of the dirty things they want to do to you when you're back together.

The big thing is to keep up communication. That's important to keep both your sex life and your relationship alive. Get creative and come up with your own ways to maintain your sex life when distance is involved.