Your Complete Freshman Year Love Guide: How to Deal With Every Possible Situation

You have settled into a routine with your classes, made tons of new friends, learned the campus lingo, and now… well, now you’re ready for some love. Whether you are attached or single, freshman year romances are hard to navigate. Are you ready for a boyfriend? Do you really want to do long-distance with your guy from high school? What does it mean when the frat cutie doesn’t call after your ‘amazing’ night together? Her Campus talked to collegiettes™ across the country to put together a complete guide to freshman year love. Keep reading, ladies!
 
It’s Complicated: So What Do I Do?
 
Scenario #1: “I broke up with my high school boyfriend before college, but we still talk everyday. I miss him.”
It’s tough enough to transition from high school to college without this added heartbreak. It’s understandable that you’re still leaning on your boyfriend for support, but what you really need to ask yourself is if you truly miss him, or if you are holding onto the past because you’re intimidated by your new surroundings. “My high school boyfriend and I broke up before college because we did not want to be long-distance,” says Amy, a student at the University of Missouri. “I broke down and called him almost every single day during my first few weeks at school. Eventually I realized that it wasn’t him I was missing, it was talking to someone who knew me really well. I had to let him go so I could make the same kind of deep friendships at school.” You can still talk to your boyfriend, but try to give yourself some space. Let a few days go by without talking every once in awhile.  The distance may prove that you are actually okay without him. There is a reason you broke up before college, and you should let yourself explore that before you jump back into a relationship.
 
Scenario #2: “I hooked up with a ton of guys during the first week of school, and now I feel like I have a bad reputation.”
The first week of school is always full of wild parties, and you certainly aren’t alone in the way you acted. As long as you recognize that you went overboard, you will be fine! The best way to reverse what you did is to scale back your behavior. Do not call the guys you hooked up with and apologize, don’t explain to everyone that you ‘never act like this,’ and definitely don’t continue your behavior. All of those things will only draw attention to your antics. Instead, focus on school and your friends. “I had a little too much fun during my first week of school,” says Maggie, a student at the University of Colorado Boulder. “I went out after that, but I tried to stay sober and calm so that people would change their opinion of me.” Your best bet is to pretend it didn’t happen – soon enough, people won’t even remember it did. Although you may feel like you have a bad reputation, nothing in college in out of the ordinary – your reputation to the majority is probably the same as the girl’s who sits next to you in History class. Cut yourself some slack, and move on.