How will I last that long?

Unfortunately, there is the reality that this may not work out. And in that light, you need to understand that there other fish in the sea, and I guess I am not totally sold on the philosophy that after dating someone for one month, you are their soul mate.

my opinion aside, what you have to try and do if you want this relationship to stay alive, is do your best to fulfill each others emotional needs. This will mean frequent email/instant messaging, regular phone conversations, and if you can ever pull it off, maybe take a short trip to visit him - whatever it takes. And don't underestimate this burden of what will lie ahead. Your relationship may not survive, and you at least have to be prepared to accept that possibility.

just remember, time and commitment is what it takes. And if your relationship can survive the next 7 months, then I'd say you really do have something special.

oh boy. hmmm.did you know that he was going to be away for 7 months prior to dating him? one has to be realistic in this kind of situation. 7 months is a really long time and a lot can happen. unless you are both crazy about each other, I can't really see this lasting for more than a month. maybe you will try to keep it up with chat, e-mails, long distance calls, etc. but the physical aspect of seeing the person will get to you especially since your relationship just started. I don't know how much trust you've invested in this guy, but no matter how much you trust him, there will always be this thought at the back of your mind, 'Who's he with and what's he doing? Does he really mean the things that he's saying? Is he hiding something from me?, etc.'

When you just meet someone new and exciting it's easy to say that he's your soul mate, that he's great to be around and you really care about him. It's natural to think that you feel intensely for him as you're going to be apart for a good while. I mean if he weren't going away for 7 months, do you think you'd feel the same way?

I dunno, I think you should try being just friends while he's away. I know that's going to be hard because you really like him but I don't think you should be holding out a candle for a guy who might not be wiling to do the same. Should you decide to wait for him.more power to you. I just hope that he can do the same for you.

Honestly I don't think it will survive without being hurt and nostalgia. However it will grow the stronger feelings for you if you don't quit it.
but just in my opinion, I don't see the point for relationship when all you do is wait. It plays and deals too much with emotions. I'd say to get out of the relationship and remain just friends for that period of time, while at that time you could both meet someone else. If you decide there's no one better and the feelings haven't got away, you could start it again. Remember life is not about the relationship, it's about whether two people are happy with each other and don't need others.

That's tough. I think you kind of have to follow his lead on this and be realistic. Is he feeling the same sort of "soul mate" thing you are? if not, your best bet might be to kind of put things on ice and leave the door open for when he returns. It's going to be difficult for a fledgling relationship to withstand that kind of distance for that amount of time.