Spring is upon us, but more importantly if you are a senior, graduation is upon us. As a senior myself, my experience in college has given me a lot to reflect on: I have learned about the type of student I am, what I want to be when I grow up, and I have learned lots and LOTS about relationships. College has taught me there are many different types of relationships one can have with their significant other: some healthy, most unhealthy. College is a time for experimenting with so many different things, and men are definitely towards the top of that list. So as I look back on my time at Bucknell, I have decided to analyze all the different relationships there are that make up campus romances.
We all have one friend, or maybe you are that friend, that has been dating their significant other since high school. Most high school relationships thrive off lust not love and don’t make it past fall semester of freshman year. That being said, there are a lucky few that pass the test. Maybe it’s because they truly are in love or maybe they have been secretly cheating on one another this whole time, but either way their relationship from the outside looks as healthy as can be. It might be one that many people are jealous of and yearn for, but then again, do you really want to be tied down in college?
Next we will talk about those that are in a relationship but met one another in college. We might call these couples the ones that want the “ring before spring.” These couples either fear being alone post graduation and want to stay with their college sweetheart forever or they are convinced they found their one true love in a sweaty frat basement. In all seriousness, there are many healthy college relationships and I can only commend the ones that make it past graduation without breaking up due to the fear they might be with the same person for the rest of their lives.
Now let’s get into the more casual relationship definitions, starting with the “exclusive” couple. I am convinced couples label each other as exclusive because they have a fear of commitment, but also want to guarantee they have someone to booty call every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. In the real world, “exclusive” does not exist. You either date or you don’t. Anyway, I think most college students have experienced the “exclusive” stage and it normally ends in tears, then makeup sex, then more tears, then ghosting. You gotta love the maturity of 20 year old college kids!
Next is the “hooking up” phase. I can’t really call this a relationship, but for the sake of the article I will. Hooking up is casual and fun, until you see your hook up in your 8AM Spanish class and you have to make sure you avoid all eye contact and sit as far away as possible. Hooking up usually transforms into the “exclusive” stage or it could just have a mutual, unspoken ending that fizzles out.
Lastly, the one relationship I have yet to acknowledge may just be the best relationship: being single. Many single people, especially those who have just gotten out of a long-term relationship, need to take time to themselves. It is important that we are all single for some part of our lives in order to develop skills of independence. We do not always need a significant other to validate our emotions and hand hold us through life. Not to mention, hot girl summer is coming up and who wants to be tied down for that?!!??
Anyways, happy husband hunting ladies, and remember, no man will ever be as good as you are.