Guest Post, by a guy

High School relationships & college

College is a time in which one can truly experience a variety of things. As such it should be a time in which you enjoy yourself as you will be finding something that greatly interests you. Be it 1200’s history, PN junction transistor construction, the art of smoking weed, etc you are bound to find something that catches your attention. Furthermore, you start from a clean slate (socially speaking). You may have been the biggest manwhore or the biggest gossip girl in high school but no one will know about that in college. What’s not to look forward to?
Well depending on how you address the situation, there is one thing people in relationships probably don’t want to look forward to - College. College = either long distance relationships which will probably falter or the end of your current relationship. …Well that just sucks! No matter how you look at it, your choices are dismal. But in order to maintain some optimism in this article, we’ll start with the “good” outlook
Situation 1 – your girlfriend and you decide to break up so that you can experience college without any strings attached. Who knows perhaps if you are lucky you’ll meet in four years and hopefully she’ll still recognize you. “Perhaps she’ll realize that she liked you so much that she went into a nunnery [or became a lesbian]” as another blogger once wrote so eloquently.
Oh I’m sorry, that wasn’t too optimistic…let me try again
Situation 2 – You maintain a long distance relationship. The strength of your relationship, although tested by great distances and sexy men or women hitting upon you has not faltered. You end up getting married at the end of college.
There! That’s more optimistic. Ah now I feel all full of bubbling hope. Like a child who just got an A for his report card. Perhaps mom won’t beat me now – well unfortunately that’s unrealistic just like situation 2. The chances of you finding your true love in high school are very very low. You have a better chance of being hit by lightening twice in two different places, surviving that ordeal, bringing peace to the Middle East, and then winning the lottery on the same day. Sorry for bursting that bubble but it was necessary. However, that is not to say that there are couples who do find true love in high school and live happily ever after, wifebeatings and divorces galore.
But honestly, let’s be realistic. Long distance relationships probably won’t work. Even though you may remain in contact with each other by letters or “Shared online activities (e.g., online games such as chess, role play games such as Ragnarok and World of Warcraft)” as wikipedia brilliantly puts it (how many girls do you know play WoW?) nothing will ever replace the needed physical human interaction – seeing your partner, talking with your partner in person, etc. And with this physical aspect of the relationship missing, cracks are likely to form within your relationship – cracks that may cause the once firm house of relationships to crumble to the ground.
If we backtrack a little, it would seem situation 1 is the better situation. As much as I really deplore it, its one of those instances that, as my sister said “you simply met too early”. It’s sad, but perhaps after the entire college ordeal you two will get back together. Who knows? Maybe you will appreciate that person even more. It’s happened before. It may be hard to let go now but it may be the lesser of two evils in the end.
In all seriousness (no more sarcasm) going to college is going to hurt both of you in the relationship if you don’t prepare for it. Talk with your boyfriend or girlfriend. If you decide to break up after high school, cherish the time that you have left. Now one might be asking “well what’s the point if you have already decided to breakup?” I honestly don’t have any smartass answer for that one. But look at your relationship. Why did you get together? Do you truly love each other? What would you do if the other died / was in danger and you could prevent it / cheated / was in pain? These are only questions that you and your partner can answer.
Now you should watch something happy after reading this depressing article – idk maybe Sex and the City or legally blond.