Is it normal to have a higher sex drive when in a relationship?

When I was single, thinking about sex wasn't that big of a deal for me (I'm female by the way). I masturbated maybe once a week to every couple weeks, but it was more so for the entertainment of it than feeling like it was something I needed to do. I could live without it if I had to.

Now I'm beginning a relationship with this girl who I'm really into and I just can't stop thinking about how much I want her and keep fantasizing about having sex with her. I now feel like I have to masturbate every day to couple days and I'm still not really satisfied. This is my first relationship so I don't have any frame of reference. Does this happen to a lot of people, where your sex drive is a lot higher when you have someone in particular to direct your fantasies toward? We're freshmen in college and can't see each other for over three weeks while on winter break so maybe it's an "absence makes the heart grow fonder" situation? Thanks.