Maintaining a healthy relationship during college is a task in itself. It requires communication, time management, and a whole lot of trust. The COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines that have been placed at St. Lawrence have created a major change in the way that my boyfriend, who is a sophomore here at St. Lawrence, and I can maintain our relationship. We spent very little time apart from each other this past summer because we lived together. We enjoy each other’s presence as we are also the best of friends; he’s my other half and a huge part of my happiness.
As a First-Year, I’m managing homesickness, making new friends, my academics, and seeing my boyfriend as much as I can. Although we are in one class together, most of our time now is spent at the student center either studying or eating at the Pub. Our biggest challenge is not being able to visit each other’s dorms. We miss the movie nights and cuddling, binging our favorite shows, random dance sessions, and most importantly- our privacy. I have never been entirely comfortable with PDA, but because it’s really our only option, I’ve adjusted to publicly showing affection to my significant other (which I’d say is now the least of my worries because I mostly miss just having my partner-in-crime by my side). As I said before, communication and time management is our biggest strength while tackling our relationship at SLU during COVID-19. Every night, we discuss which classes we each have the next day and possible times we can meet at the student center to hang out or grab a bite to eat. Who knew eating and studying would become our best bonding moments?
Nevertheless, I can say the COVID-19 restrictions have given us both a great sense of appreciation for the time we do have together. Those simple late-night trips to grab a milkshake has become my favorite time of the day. We now have an incentive to plan date nights at local restaurants and to plan for upcoming breaks. Hugs, forehead kisses, and holding hands have become more than little gestures of love and appreciation; along with communication, they’re a small part of the glue that holds us together. Without COVID-19 and the restrictions it’s brought to our campus (like many other campuses), he and I probably wouldn’t have experienced missing such simple activities together as we’d have ample time with each other. Even though COVID-19 has affected our lives in many ways, we refuse to let it challenge our love/relationship and, we know that it’s only making us stronger as a pair.
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