We collegiate scholars are of a unique variety. We work hard and play hard, so it makes sense that we would get a little dehydrated. Some might even say we’re thirsty.
While we thirst for a lot of things, there’s one thing for which we’re all particularly thirsty. What is it, you ask? It’s long, it brings people to tears and oh baby, it’s not just big, it’s notoriously BIG. You guessed it: a diploma!
When it comes time to receive that diploma, some of us may find that we aren’t fully prepared to take it at all. College life is hard to leave behind; why else do you think there are so many BuzzFeed articles about it?
Some people find the love of their life in college. Just look at my parents — they’ve been married for almost 30 years, and they started dating when they were sophomores. Relationships like theirs give me hope for love in college, so I say go for it!
Still, though, while love is a possibility, it’s not certain, even if you can find a relationship. As I said previously, a lot comes with graduation as we enter the next stage of our lives.
We all have different paths. Some choose to go to graduate school, some travel the world, some start careers, some take time off and others do a multitude of other things post-graduation.
These changes and different paths all affect and can ultimately destroy relationships, the way having a horrible personality ended up contributing to the ruin of Justin Bieber’s career.
Also important to remember is that it isn’t just romantic relationships that feel the sting of separation after graduation — this is applicable to everyone and multiple types of relationships, even friendships. You have to decide how much you can deal with in each of those relationships.
Easy example: Say you want to go to graduate school in Hawaii, but your significant other or best friend gets a job offer in New York City. Maybe they can’t get a job offer so they’re staying home. Either way, that’s going to put a lot of strain on that relationship not only because of distance, but also because you’re undergoing a massive transitional period.
While the locations might not be the ones listed above, this is something everyone has to deal with to some extent upon graduating, unless all of your friends live in your neighborhood. There are ways to overcome it, but the question becomes whether or not it’s worth it.
I know that during this next point in my life, I’m going to have to do a lot of things that are for me. Quite frankly, if I were dating someone, I would probably make a lot of changes to my life that would unintentionally hurt the significant other: work late, pick up extra shifts, communicate sporadically and, when I get home, probably pass out just like I did when I learned about the vagina for the first time.
For me personally, that makes a relationship unfeasible, and I’m just not at that point in my life yet.
In terms of friendships, it’s significantly easier to keep a long-distance friend, but you have to put in the work. Realistically, when you graduate, you’re going to lose some friends for one reason or another. With the friends whom you want to keep in your life, whether that will be a few or all of them, you may find that you have to put in quite a bit of effort.
Again, you have to determine whether or not that relationship is worth it. I always think to myself whether a person is creating more positives or negatives in my life to determine if that relationship is worth it. If it becomes too negative, that may be a sign that it’s time to move on.
Realistically, we can’t keep everyone in our lives, and when it comes to dating, that’s certainly true. For better or worse, single or not, graduation marks a time of new beginnings for everyone. The world is our oyster; now, we just have to find the pearl.