High school sweethearts often find themselves in a tough spot come graduation time. One partner may be headed to a large school in the North and the other to a small college in the South. In these situations, many high school couples wage one of the most taxing and difficult campaigns known in romance: the long-distance relationship.
Long-distance relationships are difficult simply because the immediate intimacy of physically being with a loved one is not there. Though not all lovers function on a "out of sight, out of mind" mentality, most people do find it far more arduous to maintain a healthy, communicative relationship when the two halves of a couple are hundreds of miles apart. Luckily, modern technology such as mobile phones and e-mail has made it much more feasible to immediately contact someone who is on the other side of the country within seconds. This is certainly better than attempting to maintain a relationship correspondence through postal mail or expensive long-distance telephone calls. However, technology does not solve all of the problems of a long-distance relationship. In fact, in some cases, it may exacerbate it.
College is a stressful time for all students. Students must leave behind their old lives and begin an entirely new one that is unlike any previous experience with grade school. Students must establish new friendships and colleagues, form a healthy living situation with roommates, and learn the proper way to manage their time so that they have a bright academic and social life. All of these things can cause anxiety in students and these anxieties can greatly affect a long-distance relationship. Maintaining regular communication with a significant other takes up time that some individuals may resent, and a lack of trust due to not knowing about the significant other’s whereabouts can trigger arguments and resentment. Due to the "immediate contact" nature of modern technology, couples may find themselves arguing over either too much communication, which can result in the feeling of being smothered, or too little, where one half of the couple may feel that he or she is being neglected despite the ease of communication that technology allows.
It is unfortunate that 40 percent of long-distance relationships in college fail due to a variety of reasons, according to a study conducted by East Carolina University and Indiana University Northwest. Most of these relationships end because the couple did not recognize the difficult that would be involved in maintaining such a relationship. However, keeping the romance alive during university years is not impossible; long-distance college relationships demand a lot from both parties and both parties must be willing to sacrifice to make it work.
Leave Comments