How To: Maintain a Healthy Relationship in College

Maintaining a relationship in college can seem like a struggle when you’re doing school work, working a job, and getting involved with extracurriculars. Relationships happen when you least expect them! Attending a talk on campus or taking part in a community service day can help you meet somewhere outside of your usual circle. I have five tips that I have found can help you maintain a healthy relationship while still succeeding in your college career.

Five Tips to Help Maintain Your Relationship

Set healthy boundaries. Being in college means that you will have a lot time to make your own schedule. If you live away from home, you’ll have the ability to see your significant other whenever you want. It’s important to set boundaries because healthy relationships need space to let each person grow. When people spend too much time together they, can become isolated from friends and start bickering about small things. Every couple needs to have their own outlets and be their own person. With healthy boundaries each person can grow in their relationship and keep things fresh. Having your own interests while having shared interests will allow your relationship to grow.
Realize that dates may be at the library. As a college student, you will probably be frugal with your money and have to multitask when it comes to timing of everything in which you are involved. Dates don’t necessarily have to be out somewhere special. Study dates can provide quality time while also being benefitting your homework needs. Scheduling is very important when it comes to college because you need to figure out how to balance your educational needs and social life. A study date can be that relaxed setting that you need with your significant other.
Realize college is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. College provides a time for opportunities like studying abroad or summer internships. In a healthy relationship, one partner wants the best for the other. He or she wants their partner to pursue happiness. The person that loves you won’t change their mind about how they feel about you because of distance. In my experience, the distance has provided challenges that help you to grow in your relationship and see that you are both really committed. Support your significant other in everything that s/he wants to do so that you can help them grow both mentally and spiritually.
Treat them how you want to be treated. Every relationship needs to have trust and respect. Jealousy and distrust can cause rifts. Realize that college is a stressful time and that you need to support each other, even one of you is in a bad mood from a low test grade. By treating them to a coffee or something to help them get through that rough day, you can really show your significant other how much you care about them and want to help them overcome this obstacle.
Communicate. Communication is key, especially for Generation Y. We are so connected, whether it’s texting, Facebook, or other social media platforms. Messages can get misconstrued to our significant others and it’s important that we think about how something may sound. When we do get in disagreements, it’s important to talk about it because bottling it up will just make it worse. Disagreements in college relationships can be hard because you are under a lot of pressure with your school work, jobs, and the clubs you are involved in. Open communication allows for a healthy relationship.