By Carly Choffo
To all the brave freshmen collegiettes who decided to carry out a long-distance relationship with a high school sweetheart, I’m sure you’re all too familiar with the infamous “Freshman Year Six-Week Dump.” But for those who don’t know, it’s basically the idea that most high school relationships end within the first week of college.
Well, now that your stomach just turned, I’m here to tell you that things might be okay!
Transitioning into college is hard enough, but when you factor in trying to keep a relationship working, it gets even harder. Part of you wishes that you could have just gone to college with your significant other, but deep down you know that it was best to choose what you wanted because its your future. So how do you survive an LDR?
One minute, you’re so excited to go visit and the next minute, you’re worried sick because he’s not answering your calls or texts. Whether you believe it or not, distance can make or break a relationship. Think about it: half of us are saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” while the other half is saying “out of sight, out of mind!”
So what’s going on here? Should you believe in the myths that these relationships don’t last? Is it doomed from the start? If you’re lucky and everything is fine so far, then keep it that way! Video chat, call, send cute texts, visit – make it work because it’s not impossible. There are plenty of stories of the high school sweethearts who make it all the way. My senior year English teacher married her best friend from fourth grade!
For some of you who have been off to a rough start, don’t give up hope! Maybe you argue on video chat. He or she won’t answer your calls and won’t text you back for a long time. You find yourself checking their Twitter and they’re posting pictures with friends and maybe it hurts a little. In this case, it might be a good idea to give it some time, but if you find that things just keep getting worse and you keep growing farther apart, it may be time to call it quits.
Just like you had the guts to choose your own college, you have the same courage to choose to be happy. Don’t think about the “dump period”— think about your relationship and consider what makes you happy. In the end, that’s what really matters anyway.