“He’s just gonna dump you when he leaves for college.” My dad said this to me about my boyfriend, Chris, who I had been dating for two months at the time. It was the end of July, and Chris was getting ready to start his freshman year of college, while I was preparing for my senior year of high school. We met in March of my junior year, his senior year. Our relationship was great from the start. We dated for a few months until he asked me to be his girlfriend in June, and of course, I said yes. Not long after, he told me he loved me. Okay, don’t roll your eyes. Yes, he told me he loved me not even a month after he asked me to be his girlfriend. But I told him I loved him back, and we both meant it. And here we are two and a half years later, both of us in college, just as happy as we’ve always been.
But wait, aren’t you supposed to dumb your high school boyfriend when you go to college? Well, he went to college a year before me, so shouldn’t he have broken up with me? This is one of the stigmas surrounding high school relationships that I simply do not understand at all. All summer leading up to my senior year was filled with questions from friends and family, all asking how we planned on maintaining our relationship and telling me to just break up with him because he was going to break my heart while he was away at college in West Virginia. I will be honest, I had my doubts. Was he going to find someone he wanted more than me while he was gone? Would the distance put a strain on our relationship? I will be honest, I struggled with a lot of these questions (sorry Chris). We had only been dating for a couple of months, and while our relationship got serious very fast, it was only natural for me to be nervous. We made it through his first semester, and he decided to transfer from West Virginia back to UD to be closer to home. Soon after, it was my turn to pick a college. I never had planned on attending UD, but I committed, and of course, Chris was ecstatic. Again, I got the typical question of, “Did you only pick your college because your boyfriend goes there?” No Karen, I just want to save money with in-state tuition.
As I started my freshman year, the negative thoughts crept into my mind. Don’t I want to be single? Have random hookups at frat parties? Be free to not have any commitment to any relationship? My family was constantly asking me if I was still happy with my relationship, and I 100% was, and let me tell you why. Having Chris through one of the most challenging transitions in my life was the biggest blessing I could have asked for. I had someone I knew on a campus that was 40 times the size of my high school. I had someone who understood all of the challenges I was facing, as he had gone through the same things just the year prior. He was my best friend, and I did not want to let him go just because I was starting a new chapter in my life; I wanted him there for every step. We have been able to grow together, and simply have fun and enjoy college.
Obviously, we both still have our “what if” moments, but they soon leave our minds. We are happy together, so why would I want to throw that away? Being able to go through challenging times and coming out the other side okay shows how strong your relationship really is. If you really are committed to your partner, do not break up before college. See where your relationship takes you as you both begin a new and exciting part of your lives.