I have always been a relationship person. Some people don’t like to admit that, but I don’t mind because it’s just who I am. When I was in kindergarten, I got “married” to a ginger boy named William. I’ve loved the idea of love ever since I was a kid, and it’s just grown up as I have. I’m the type of person who has had their wedding planned since I was eight years old and told everyone about it.
That being said, I have always believed in the “right person, right time” thing. I always thought I was going to be single for a super long time and then, in college, meet the perfect right person after having my fair share of experiences with guys. Fast forward a few years, junior year of high school, I met my current boyfriend, and we started dating. Four years later, we’re still going strong.
Something about being a high school senior in a relationship is slightly traumatizing. Every day I had people telling me to make sure not to follow my boyfriend to college—asking me if I was sure it was going to work, making sure I wouldn’t “waste” my college years. The thing about me is that I’m a very independent person. Relationships or not, I love doing my own thing, and spoiler alert, I’m three years into my college experience, and not one minute has been a waste.
I think the hardest part for me was feeling an instant disconnect from a lot of the girls I was hanging out with. I wanted to talk about boys and first dates and kissing a random guy at some party, but I couldn’t. It was a weird feeling because as a young girl coming into college, you want to make those connections, and a few times, I caught myself feeling left out like I was somehow missing out on something.
For a little while, I had a hard time finding myself in the midst of hookup culture because, honestly, I was feeling like I missed out. I chose then to remind myself that I was in a loving relationship with my best friend, and no matter what, that was something I cherished. At the end of the day, my friends became best friends with my boyfriend too. We’ve had the really unique opportunity to grow up together, and I feel really grateful that we have.
To the girls getting told it won’t work, if you really want it to, it will. It wasn’t an easy decision for us to stay together heading into college. We considered breaking up, and I think for a lot of people, that’s the right choice but, when you know, you know. Nobody’s college experience looks the same, and I feel like I have had just as much of an enriching experience as my single friends. I am very lucky to be with the guy I am with, but it’s important to remember that at the end of the day, you are not your relationship status.