Why Highschool Boyfriends Shouldn't Define Your College Life

So the title of this article sounds like a bitter perpetually single girl who is annoyed with the amount of time her roommate spends time FaceTiming her boyfriend while judging the drunken freshman who fill the hallways. This is partially true, but there is valid reasoning behind this, and why I whole-heartedly believe in this one piece of advice: TAKE A SEMESTER BREAK FROM YOUR HIGHSCHOOL RELATIONSHIP WHEN YOU GET TO COLLEGE. You could be destined to be together or the sex may be really good, but it can wait a few months so that it doesn't take away from your time in college that is meant to be filled with debauchery and adventures. Coordinating visits with your paramour, face timing, and texting to stay updated on each other’s lives takes time that should be used to make new friends and creating a version of you that stands apart from your high school self. What harm is it to separate yourselves for three months? This is enough time for you to create new friends (because thats what all your high school friends are doing, so they are too busy to visit you and hang out). I’m not saying you can’t talk to your high school lover throughout that break, but limit it to a couple of phone calls a month. This could be enough time to realize you are a matured version of yourself who has outgrown the relationship, or you could realize that drunk nights are more fun than talking to him virtually. You might even realize that those three months were the worst you have ever experienced and you can't live without each other (excuse me while I go and puke). Even if you both think that the break was a mistake, doesn’t that just reaffirm that you are destined to be together and make your relationship stronger? Plus, I mean you probably know all of each other’s stories by now so at least now you will have something new to talk about next time you grab dinner.

Your college experience should be just that, a COLLEGE experience, not some hybrid of a high school/college life. It always kills me to see someone stuck in their high school lives. Relationships in high school were adaptations to prom, drama, and all the other bullshit you should have left back in those dreaded hallways, but now that you are in college, your relationship with your boyfriend should change somehow to acknowledge the new atmosphere and lifestyle. By holding on to a relationship that you should have moved on from, you are no different from the popular kid in high school who is now a middle-aged fat dad referring to the “glory days," the not Zac Efron version of the guy in 17 again, or Mr. Incredible when he can’t get rid of his super suit. All have one thing in common: they miss the way something was so they cling to it for dear life. It’s the most natural reaction, but it inhibits them from planning a kick-ass future for themselves. Being with a high school boyfriend is clinging to the past, but why should high school be your “glory days”? Make college your bitch and make new memories and have interesting stories to tell your friends back home that don't start with the phrase “so I was face timing my boyfriend when…”. You can still be in a relationship and evolve together, but this is a rarer occurrence than it seems. You can't learn to be your own person if you can be self-sufficient in a new environment for three months.

Sorry for the rant and the overall boring post telling you how to live your life. I am in no position to gage how effective your relationship is, but I have seen it with my friends and its heartbreaking to watch. If you are in danger of being “that couple” (in the annoying af kind of way), you may want to think about this.