I would just like to let everyone out there know, this isn’t just a smutty column about intercourse. This is a column about intercourse and relationships.
Now, over the last few weeks I’ve been noticing a lot of people breaking up. This “Relationship Plague” means people have been calling it quits all over campus and it doesn’t matter what year you are, no one is immune.
For all the freshmen out there, many of you have moved on from your high school boyfriends/girlfriends. The whole long distance thing just wasn’t working; you wanted to play the field here or you realized they weren’t right for you. Perhaps you were blindsided by the break up.
Those relationships, while great when happening, were in high school. You were still a kid. So many high school relationships and friendships were convenient but lacked depth. I’m sure many of you thought “but we’re different. We’re going to make it, this is the love of a lifetime!” We all think that.
The good news is that college can be different, but you have to be willing to grow. College is going to help you become an adult. You’ll figure out what you want to do in your life and who you want to surround yourself with. You have to find out who you are, love yourself for it first, and then Mr. or Miss Right will see that confidence and gravitate toward you.
For all the broken-hearted upperclassmen on campus, you’re in the middle of finding out who you are. If you have recently ended a relationship it’s probably because you and your partner have grown up and apart. People change and so do their expectations of those around them. That’s nobody’s fault, that’s just knowing your relationship isn’t working for you anymore.
It may be hard to see your ex walking around campus, even dating other people. It’s okay to be sad about it for a while, but then you have to move on. Staying in the same depressed funk will not give you that confident glow and you will miss out on dating opportunities because of it. Don’t be your own worst enemy.
This goes for everyone: just because you are out of a committed relationship doesn’t give you the right to sleep around. You can’t replace a relationship with no-strings-attached sex; it will not fill the void in your life. If you want to date lots of people, hang out, check out your options, go for it. But look, don’t touch. You don’t want your reputation to be ruined because you are overcompensating for lost time.
Embrace the single life for a while. The only person you have to worry about is you. Ladies, go see that chick flick you’ve wanted to see. Fellas, go paintballing with your bros. Take time for you and work on you as a person, so when that new relationship comes around you know who you are and what you want.
Life has its disappointing moments, but they don’t define your life—it’s how you handle them that does.
