I just need to vent a little...

My boyfriend and I have been dating for 11 months and he has been stationed in Tennessee since January. I haven’t gotten to visit him or vice versa, and I miss him so much it physically hurts! He’s been doing leadership training off and on for 3 months with weeks of no contact... but he plans on coming down next month(: I can’t wait to see him!!! My main problem is that my family and friends think I’m too young to know what I want and that I am wasting my time. They say that I need to test the waters and not be anchored down to one guy. I just want to feel like someone has my back... it’s already tough to be so far apart from him, and to feel like everyone is against you, makes it even worse.

I have thought about moving to Tennessee with him, but he’s going to be deployed to Afghanistan here very soon for 10 months and I wouldn’t know anyone in Tennessee... I just don’t know what to do. I can’t tell anyone how I feel, because it’ll just validate them in feeling like my boyfriend and I aren’t strong enough make it. But on the other hand, I need someone who understands what’s going on... you feel me?