Long distance love ideal for college crowd
By Colleen Snyder
After four long years of dating guys who do not live in or anywhere near Santa Clara, I have made the decision to share my hard-earned secrets about long distance relationships. The first long-distance boyfriend could've been a coincidence, but by the third one, I started to wonder - maybe there's a reason I pick them far from home. Now, I am not the only one who contributed to this piece. No, I definitely had help from a few other veterans of long distance relationships who helped me decide what every college kid stuck in the most time-consuming, de-individuating spiral of on-campus dating needs to know. So listen up, we won't tell our secrets twice!
- First and what should be foremost, the long distance relationship allows time to get things done - work, that is. Without your significant other always there to distract you, you have all the time in the world to concentrate your energies on finishing Beowulf or really learning how to do a calculus problem. No longer will your "special friend" be able to just simply show up at your door wanting to talk. Nope, you're all alone with nothing to do but your work!
- Well, technically you're not alone. We guarantee you'll have more opportunities to get involved in on-campus events and activities. Most likely, once you ditch the perma-boyfriend or girlfriend, whatever the case may be, you'll feel more like an individual and be more apt to explore the possibilities for involvement around you.
- If getting involved in clubs and extra-curriculars isn't really your thing, you'll definitely have more time for your friends as a result of opting for the long-distance relationship. This one is a no-brainer. You're not married, so there's no need to act like it. This is the time to develop lifelong friendships, and that can be pretty hard to do with another person always by your side. This is the beauty of your college years. Savor it.
- Speaking of savoring your youth, the long distance relationship gives you all the freedoms of single life (well, almost all of them). Feel like going out on a Wednesday night and getting rowdy with your friends? Don't really want to invite or even tell your other half about your plans? No problem. With the long-distance relationship, all one must do is leave the house and turn on the answering machine. No excuses necessary.
- If your independence is not enough to convince you that the long distance relationship is ideal for you, maybe your roommates can persuade you. Not only does it benefit the people in the relationship, but also the people immediately surrounding them. No longer must your roommates endure the presence of an added (but non-paying) roommate; and there is absolutely no reason to sleep with headphones by the side of one's bed.
- Perhaps the ultimate reason, though, is the refreshing quality of dating someone outside the Santa Clara bubble. You won't have to hear people talking in class about the person you're dating and you won't be forced to participate in group projects with your significant other's ex. As we see it, this is enough reason in itself to go long-distance.
- However, there's another, not so obvious advantage to having a boyfriend or girlfriend that no one knows - you are free to make him or her into whoever you want. Maybe he's a firefighter, or she's in law school - no one will ever know the difference.
- If you've read this far and have not gotten up yet to break up with your on-campus man or woman, then perhaps you are beyond persuading. But ultimately, let it be known that absence does make the heart grow fonder.