Me 19F and my boyfriend 19M have been dating for 8 months. We met the first week of college and lived in the same dorm. We basically moved in together immediately and lived together for 6 months. So although our relationship is only 8 months old, we have grown quite close.
About a month ago, we left college for summer break. We are a 17 hour drive or $500 flight apart. I am working 50+ hours a week because I pay for everything on my own (tuition, car payments, food, etc.) He is working at a summer camp. I text/call him every day to update him about the little things and stories I have. He won’t respond for hours at a time, often over 24 hours. Since he is at this camp, I understand that he won’t be able to check his phone much. However, it feels like he isn’t putting in effort. I am working 50+ hours a week but am constantly wanting to update him with the little victories. Due to his lack of response recently, I’ve stopped reaching out as much. Maybe 1 or 2 texts in a day. He hasn’t appeared to notice.
He called me back for the first time in a week tonight. I brought up how I felt a little neglected and wanted more communication. Communication has been a recurring problem in our relationship, and in long distance it is especially important. He said I needed to calm down and stop letting my emotions take control. I told him that I think it’s normal to have these emotions when you miss your partner, and I don’t want to push them away. He told me he had to go do something (at 11pm?) and hung up on me before I got to say goodbye. This really hurt my feelings. I texted him asking him to please not hang up on me and that I just wanted 20 minutes of his time. It’s been a few hours and no response. I’m exhausted and hurt.
I love this man, I really do. I want to work through this and I don’t want to give up. But it is so hard when I feel like he isn’t showing up for me. How should I approach this the next time I talk to him? When do I know when it’s time to reconsider my relationship? I really love him. I also want to note that although we are the same age, there is definitely a maturity difference. I’m wondering if this is just a maturity issue or if this is going to be a problem that will persist if I don’t make change.
TL;DR Me (19F) and my partner (19M) are long distance for the summer and having communication issues. How do I handle this?