High school sweethearts go sour, college to blame

You’re 18. College is exciting, friends are new and your significant other is 100 miles away. You spend two hours a night on the phone, make it a point to avoid members of the opposite sex and still all you hear is “What were you doing? Who were you with?” Right now, I know what you’re thinking. That would never happen to you. Your sweet pookums-babycakes is the most amazing girlfriend/boyfriend there ever was and you just know the two of you will live happily ever after. Allow me to introduce you to reality. Most likely, you won’t.

I know it sounds harsh, but if you don’t love someone enough to go to the same college, then why do you think you love them enough to stop flirting with the most attractive person you’ve ever seen sitting across from you in biology?

In three years, I have never seen one long-distance relationship that started in high school work out. Not one. I’ve seen so many friends get or make phone calls that start with “We need to talk” and end with “I should have ended it long before I let that happen.” People get hurt when the feelings run deep, and don’t forget to cue the Boyz II Men and bring on the guilt.

Why put yourself through that? This time of your life is about growing into the person you’ve always wanted to be, and sadly enough, most of the time, your high-school self leaves the room pretty quickly. And when your ideas change, so does the relationship.

I know it’s a difficult situation to be in, but trust me, it gets much worse when jealousy and interrogation are involved. There is no reason to hold yourself back for months only to end things in a much worse way than if you just would have broken up in the first place. Take the time to get to know the people around you now – on your floor and in your classes. If you stay together at first and end up breaking up, you’ll be glad you took the time to make friends that are still there. Save your self some time, some heartache and some phone minutes by hanging up on your high school romance and returning the wink from the person across the room. It could be the start of a whole new you – or at least, a fun detour.