1. Meeting
In high school, most of us met boys we were in classes with.
At BU we meet guys in our dorms, through our friends, at other schools in Boston and at bars. Luckily for us, this makes for a much greater variety to chose from.
2. Getting into Relationships
In high school finding a boyfriend usually went like this: making out and then being asked, “so you wanna be my girlfriend?” It was casual and normal.
In college it’s a little of a longer process. It can take several dates or even months before you decide if you like this person enough to date them. As we get older we are more cautious before jumping into a relationship; we’ve learned our lesson by the one week relationships we endured in high school.
3. The Relationship
In our teens, relationships were about fun. We hung out in large groups with our friends, and things were casual. It didn’t matter if we knew we would never want to marry the person or they weren’t long term. Things didn’t need to be too serious and we had little to worry about. As we get older most of us don’t want to waste our time with someone we can’t introduce our friends and parents to, who doesn’t have the same values as us or who isn’t the type of person we can see ourselves with long term.
4. Absence of Parents
The biggest difference of dating in college is the absence of parents. If you want to sleepover, you sleepover. No one is keeping tabs on your location and there are fewer restrictions. As a young woman you make all of the decisions on how far and where you’d like your night to go. There is no awkward meeting with the parents too soon, or your father waiting for you, making sure you don’t come home too late.
Although it may be harder in college to find someone to date, it’s also more meaningful when we look for someone we have a deep connection with rather than someone to just have fun with.
Be safe and good luck!