College life is like a different world, a world in which relationships aren’t always encouraged or easy to maintain. Picture this: a crowded room, reeking of sweat and cheap beer. There’s a pair sloppily making out against the wall, while “dancing” (aka shaking her bum all over him and him groping her). A group of guys wearing backpacks flock around dancing girls, waiting to make their move like birds seeking their prey. The token drunk freshman dances on a table, obviously wearing a tight, short, black skirt. Sounds like a place to find romance, right?
While nightlife in college isn’t the ideal environment for finding love, it isn’t great for maintaining it either. For those who have managed to work against the odds and meet one of the few nice guys (maybe they searched for some of the HC Campus Cuties?) or kept their high school relationship going, these situations can strain a relationship.
There is no magic solution for a perfect relationship, but a few simple guidelines can make all the difference.
Balance
Keeping a healthy balance between time spent with friends and with your man will not only help your peace of mind, but keep the flame alive! When you spend too much time with just him, you’ll probably end up at each other’s throats. A little time apart will only make you appreciate the time spent together more. Also, you never want to cut your friends out of your life. Relationships come and go, but your girls will always be there for you. This especially applies to those freshmen collegiettes out there. If you spend so much time with your guy, you’ll miss out on forming those lifelong friendships.
Mix It Up
It’s very easy it get stuck in a boring routine. The last thing you want is for it to become routine that you go over to his dorm room or apartment and just watch movies every time you hang out. That will get old fast, and the flame might fizzle out. Take advantage of all the things around you, like cheap movies in the MUB, concerts, or slices of pizza downtown. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do something different together!
Have a little fun!
Don’t forget that you’re in college. Let loose, have fun, and laugh a lot. Even if you’re in a serious relationship, you don’t need to act serious. You’re only in college for four years (well, hopefully!), so make the most of it. Go out together and blow off some steam with friends.
Communication
Being completely open and honest is probably the one way to keep a relationship going strong. If something makes you uncomfortable, let him know. He’s not going to want to make you feel badly, so if you tell him that he is, he’ll rethink his actions. When you keep things bottled up inside, you’ll eventually pop and it will lead to blow out between the two of you. Avoid unnecessary fights by just telling each other what is on your mind. Also, be completely honest with him. This leads me to the next guideline…
Trust
Relationships are built upon trust. If couples are a hundred percent honest with each other, they have no reason not to trust each other. Sometimes guys think about the scene I described in the beginning of the article and think that every single guy out there is drooling over you and just itching to pounce, and sometimes they just need a little bit of reassurance that you’re all in. In the end, without trust, there is no relationship.