When all of your friends are breaking up with their boyfriends/girlfriends before University in preparation for a fresh start or a bit of fun during Freshers’ Week, how do you manage being the only person you know starting with a partner? After asking numerous people in my college about their experiences and how they’ve kept that spark alive in the past few weeks, I think I’ve managed to come up with a few guidelines that will ensure the light of love isn’t put out by copious amounts of alcohol and new friends!
Avoid cynics
It’s perhaps the worst thing when the people around you are telling you it’ll never work. Why surround yourself with people like that? As cheesy as it sounds, you know your relationship best and you know whether or not it’s strong enough to get through the pressures and tensions of starting university. Don’t listen to the haters!
Staying in touch
Three words: communication, communication, communication. It’s time like these that you realise Skype is the best thing ever to be invented. It’s really important to give each other time to socialise with new friends but a cute Skype or phonecall every now and then is so important to remind each other why you’re in relationship and what you love about each other.
Stay on the same wavelength
No relationship can last the distance and pressures of fresh starts without you and your partner being on the same page. Make sure you’re both clear on your decision to stay together and where you both stand! That way, it’ll make it so much easier to trust each other, especially when you see pictures of your other half dancing with loads of good-looking members of the opposite sex in a grimy nightclub!
Thoughtfulness
Surprise visits, letters in the post and just generally nice, thoughtful things are key to keeping a relationship exciting when you’re potentially at opposite ends of the country. If your partner isn’t at university and they’re stuck at home, it’s more about empathy and thoughtfulness than anything else: realise that they’re going to be a bit worried about what you’re getting up to, sympathise with that and don’t go on the defensive!
Good luck and thanks to Katie and Brad, Billi and Marcus, Sol and Tom, Melissa and Dean and all the other lovebirds out there!