I’m so sorry in advance for how long this is but I’m desperate for advice & I’d appreciate it so much if you read it & commented

My boyfriend & I have been together for half a year (I know that doesn’t seem like long, but it’s felt like a lifetime in the best way). I’m not exaggerating when I say we have the most amazing relationship. I’ve been in bad relationships before & I didn’t even know a love like this was possible. I don’t want to bore you all with the details, but trust me he’s been more than amazing.

Before we met, we had committed to schools 3 hours apart from each other. We knew from the beginning we’d be together until summer was over but then we’d be long distance. And we were together EVERY SINGLE DAY. He was the first thing I saw in the morning & last thing I saw at night. And we loved it! We never got bored of each other & every day was exciting.

Our time together started slipping away & he started getting anxiety. One day we was crying & shaking because of how scared he was & how much he was going to miss me. I reassured him in every way possible. He even has a letter to open for when he’s feeling anxious. And we went our separate ways to both pursue our plans for the future.

We’ve been apart for 6 days now (we’ve never been apart this long). He’s having an AMAZING time in college, and I’m so happy for him!!! I’ve been praying that he’d love it & not experience that anxiety. Well my prayers are obviously working, but also kind of backfiring. He’s been super busy (I have too) and we don’t have a lot of time to talk. I’ve been having a hard time adjusting (I know, the tables turned) and I’ve been pretty clingy & naggy which I’m not proud of at all, but it’s the truth. I’ve been asking for reassurance multiple times a day. He’s been giving it to me in his own way & I’ve been kind of oblivious to it because it’s not the ways I expected. His idea is reassurance is more like making time to give me a phone call while my idea is like sending a long paragraph about how much he loves me. So our love languages differ in that area. I’ve been trying to express that I want to be reassured and I’ve been asking so much that now he’s annoyed. In his words he’s been “loving his freedom, he’s doing okay without me, and he’s not sure if things will get better.”

That hurt me so bad. He’s never said anything like that to me before. I’m just so surprised he’s not missing me like crazy yet & it’s throwing me off guard.

Basically, I’ve been pushing him away with my constant need for attention. I’m driving him crazy. I’m not trying to but I am. He still tells me he loves me a million times a day, but I don’t want his love to fade because I’m being mentally unstable.

My question is, what do I do?? How can I be more understanding that he’s trying his best & he needs space because he’s busy? We’re both extremely clingy people, but he’s literally been perfectly fine without me, and it hurts.

My dad (who’s the only person I’ve talked to about this) is telling me to wait it out. He’s seen firsthand how in love my boyfriend & I are.

It’s just that after he said those things to me, I’m having trouble trusting him. I’m just so lost and don’t know what to do.

Please, give me any type of advice. I know this is the man I want to end up with. Help me save our relationship. How do I stop being clingy so I don’t drive him crazy? Please please PLEASE HELP