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"Having a long-term boyfriend has taught me that relationships are like a sport\u2014it takes a team effort to win the trophy! Troy and I have been together for two years, but it hasn&amp;#039;t always been blissful. If you have a friend who seems to be in the perfect relationship and never ever fights with her boyfriend, she&amp;#039;s probably just kept quiet about the bumps in the road they&amp;#039;ve had. In order to keep a relationship longer than those first hazy months, both partners have to put in the effort. Every relationship is bound to come across some hurdles. For Troy and me, being in a biracial relationship is something we&amp;#039;ve had to deal with. My friend Ruth and her boyfriend faced their first relationship hurdle when Ruth decided to study abroad. It forced them to talk about how into each other they were\u2014not exactly the most fun convo to have! But Ruth and her boyfriend worked as a team and kept their relationship strong while they were apart.  So, what does this &amp;quot;work&amp;quot; I&amp;#039;m talking about actually look like? For Troy and I, it&amp;#039;s carving out &amp;quot;us&amp;quot; time so we can actually talk. It&amp;#039;s easy to fall into a routine of just hanging out at parties or in groups. We definitely have fun doing stuff like that, but spending time just the two of us gives us the chance to talk about whatever is on our minds. We like to bake and watch movies! Also, Troy and I have this thing where we compliment each other every day, just to show we appreciate each other. Putting in the work is not always easy, but it&amp;#039;s so worth it! Are you in a relationship? If so, how do you keep your relationship strong? What hurdles have you and your BF faced? Let me know! Brooklyn Read Seventeen dating blogger Brooklyn&amp;#039;s posts every Thursday at seventeen.com/love. Check out her last post here! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/love/dating-advice/a28246/relationships-take-work/>