It is no secret that college is one of the most stressful four years of your life. Between classes, subsequent homework, your social life, and whatever else you have going on the pressure is on. The last thing you want to add stress to your life is your relationship with a significant other. However, in some cases, that stress might just be unavoidable.
Here’s a real life example: Say you’re dating someone who has more homework than he knows what do you with, plays a sport, is involved in other extracurriculars, and already feels stressed out. Now the logical thing to have done was to have never dated said person in the first place. Unfortunately, however, in college love is deaf, blind, dumb, and most of the time, drunk.
Just because you are on the same campus as your boyfriend or girlfriend, doesn’t mean that you are going to spending incredible amounts of time with each other, especially if you or your significant other has a heavy work load. The most frustrating thing about college relationships sometimes is the fact that you are close in proximity but so far away in regards to the closeness of your relationship. That’s the part where you have to start making some choices and changes.
If you are dating an athlete or if you yourself are one, then you know the time restraints and the stress of simply being a student-athelete. The last thing most athletes want is something or someone to get them unfocused from their sport. When or if you find yourself dating an athelete, be prepared to have your only time spent with your significant other on the sidelines cheering them on or during meal times. The schedule may not be ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but it comes with the territory.
In the long run, the degree you are paying tens of thousands of dollars to one day acheive, far outweighs the relationship you are frazzled about. Make school, not your relationship, the first priority.
If you find that your once serious relationship is starting to seem more like a joke, the responsible thing to do would be to let it go. Don’t ever sacrifice your education on the altar of a failing relationship.If the love is there, but the time isn’t then it’s time to have a talk with your partner about whether or not it is worth the emotional toll to go ahead with the relationship.
Regardless of how great your relationship is, all relationships are susceptable to the difficulties of the college lifestyle. By keeping the lines of communication open and being honest about the time you can give to your significant other you are less likely to fall into the slippery slope of unnecessary relationship stress.
