1. Time. Time isn’t always there. As much as you and your SO (signifigant other) would love to hang out and give each other endless amounts of your time, that just isn’t do-able. Both of you have classes, friends, homework, and other responsibilities. But don’t take this as your SO not making you a priority. You are a priority, but other things are priorities as well. Don’t ever give up your friends, extracurricular activities, or anything else that makes you happy for somebody. If they really wanted to be with you they would understand there are other important things in your life too.
2. Texting. It’s okay to not text or talk 24/7. For those of you who feel the need to talk to your SO all day every day, it’s really not necessary… or realistic. Not talking to your SO all day is actually awesome. It makes seeing them in person ten times better because you have something to talk about. Besides, what are you going to say for 8 hrs straight?! It gets pretty boring saying, “what’re you up to” ten times a day. If it was important, they would tell you. So pick your head up from your phone and enjoy the other people around you. Because nobody likes someone who is mesmerized by their phone all day.
3. Communication. It’s definitely hard to find the balance of not texting/talking too much to not talking enough. Because we can’t give our SO every second of our time, it’s important to learn how to communicate with them. Not in a “we need to text every second” kind of way, but in a “oh, I haven’t seen/talked to you in a while, let me give a quick phone call” way. Relationships are based on communication. If something is bothering you, say it. Never bottle anything up, because eventually it will all just come out like word vomit one day. And this is college; we’re all stressed and have a lot of things on our mind. Be able to talk to your SO about things that are stressing you out with school/friends/family. They should be there as a back support for you when you need them.
4. The little things. Remember to appreciate every little thing your SO does for you. Because we’re college students, we don’t have all the time in the world, we definitely don’t have all the money in the world, and we can’t always do the things we want to do with the person we are with. You can’t go out on expensive dates every weekend, or spend an entire weekday watching Netflix. It’s more like waking up hung over together on a Saturday morning and getting breakfast at Philly. Surprise your SO with a visit to their dorm/apartment to just say hi, or ask if they want to stay in on the weekend to watch a movie instead of going out. Appreciate the time you can give each other, even if it’s not doing the most spectacular thing in the world.
5. Trust. Trust is key. Come on lets get real, this is college. There are parties every weekend and over 14,000 people at this school. Your SO had friends before you and is always going to be making new friends. They will be around plenty of girls/boys and getting jealous of that isn’t going to do you any good. Remember that your SO is with you for a reason, and trust that reason. If you are always questioning their want to be with you or what they are doing on the weekends, you are without a doubt going to push them away. Nobody wants to be burdened for going out on the weekends or spending time with their friends, and it’s not fair to make anyone feel bad for doing things like that.
Moral of the story: Everyone may say relationships in college are a dumb idea, but in reality they are awesome. Just make sure you can handle it the right way. Have fun with your SO, that’s what college is about. Nobody wants to be miserable in a relationship, especially when you’re suppose to be having the best four years of your life. If you are able to trust and appreciate your SO you will have the time of your life with them at school.