Relationships and dating in college may appear intimidating and impractical. Your college experience will be gone in a flash so don’t be afraid to dive in and find out what works for you.
The heavy grind of school and maintaining scholastic excellence for the most part is a priority for students. Relationships with a significant other or a blooming love interests can take precedence over the lives of college students, or at least becomes a normal part of it. There is nothing wrong with integrating your love life into your college experience.
In the “glory days” we are in pursuit of finding ourselves, experimenting and truly defining our paths for the future. Delving into a relationship within college can hold you down, take the bulk of your time or leave you distracted from focusing on yourself. Committing to a full throttle relationship requires time, sacrifice and energy.
Some roam their college days with a no-strings mentality and revel in complete freedom in their dating rituals. On the other end of the spectrum, there are the committed types.
It is easy for them to maintain a relationship in college. They are supported and understand each others’ time schedules and responsibilities. They cherish the moments they have together. Those committed to a relationship during these college years know they won’t be spending their time on the prowl for someone to spend time with or date. The hard part is already done. The only obstacle in the way are time constraints and schedule clashes with their significant other.
Grant Medica, 23, a Palomar student working on his general education classes after already graduating from Fire Science and Emergency Management classes, has been with his girlfriend Lauren Wright, 22, for a year and a half. He gave insight on the disadvantages in his relationship throughout college.
“It can be difficult to maintain a relationship with both people being so busy, especially when that person has a differing schedule,” he said of Wright, who is a computer science major at CSUSM. “You’re young. You’re busy; You’re trying to get your life together. You have to put schooling and supporting yourself first. Then do the best you can to make time for each other.”
So why is it worth it? And what are the advantages of being committed in our glory days? Why would anyone want to struggle to make a relationship work in such an exciting and trying time of our lives?
“It’s stability, it’s all dependent on the person,” Medica said. “You always have someone you can be with. If you’re struggling with something, you’ll always have someone you can count on. When you’re in love with someone you want to be with them and make them happy, even with the little bits you get, it’s worth it despite it being difficult.”
So love conquers all in some situations. Recognition of difficulties, and a game plan is necessary to overcome the barriers of dating and relationships in college. There are still the predicaments for those who cannot seem to find any kind of connection with a significant other based on the state of mind a portion of college students are in: Single and loving it.
Amy Lopez, 21, a Palomar business major, expressed how things uncoiled in her dating life.
“Well, it was non-existent as of recently,” Lopez said. “The challenge was that most young guys weren’t really looking for a relationship. I guess the advantage is that we are young and we meet new people all the time and learn what we want as we go.”
Holding strong through a relationship in college is admirable and holds its merits of stability and support. Falling in love during these college years may even teach you more about yourself. Staying single and searching for what makes you tick can be an enlightening journey.
We are all different people with diverse personalities and lifestyles. There is no straight shot or method to dating or carrying relationships in college. Life is a learning experience; college is one of the best places to learn what will benefit us in our future dating/relationship escapades by learning from the ones we have now.