Mr Right or Mr Right Now?

Summer is finally here. University exams have long gone, the stress of revision has disappeared and we are gleefully faced with long summer nights, barbecues and not to mention…the nagging parents asking when you’ll be home (which we are no longer used to!) But what happens to the past years love affairs, catastrophies and romances?

Many of us students spent the past year trying to juggle our social lives, jobs, romances and course work, spending less time worrying about the latter and more time daydreaming of that gorgeous singleton we spotted with a tequila shot in hand across the Willow dancefloor.

However, with summer comes one crucial question; will the relationship developed over the past year last the summer or will Mr Right turn into Mr Right Now and not last long distance? Although I’m no love guru (far from it!) my first two years at Uni have definitely rendered me with enough love dramas, psychotic exes and mistakes than you could shake a stick at, which has provided me with enough experience to understand what relationships are worth the summer struggle, and which should just be left on campus at the end of the academic year.

Relationships are not easy. Especially when miles are separating you and you have three months to figure out what you truly want. Being back in your usual home environment changes a lot of things, not only are you reunited with a circle of friends you became close to, you are also faced with all the memories of romances you have had over the years, from the playground kiss chase games to sixth form and college heart breaks.

But how do we put all these things aside and ensure the long distance relationships last over the summer period? Whether you live at other ends of the country from one another, or even different countries altogether, long distance isn’t an easy situation to deal with. Instead of seeing each other daily, in lectures or on campus, the relationship ends up relying on phone calls, texting and Skype.

I’m not suggesting all the guys write love letters and all the girls wait at their letterboxes for the postman to arrive, because let’s face it, video calling is an amazing invention and if all technology broke who knows what the student population would do?

However, a long distance relationship, alongside constant communication, needs something more. Whether it’s a spontaneous train ride to see your other half or a meet half way scenario, the summer gives the opportunity for you to go off and see each other in your own environments; after all you have 3 months to arrange it all!

But for some, the distance faced between the two can be far too great to travel over the summer and with family holidays, summer placements and work experience it can become too difficult to organise times when both of you are free. But don’t let this put you off, it doesn’t mean the relationship won’t work, it just means that you have to figure out how best to keep your relationship happy for the holiday period.

Relationships are never going to be a walk in the park. Whether its through long distance reasons or confrontation, there will always be situations where your relationship won’t be perfect and if you pay attention to those around you, you’ll notice this is more than normal.

To be honest, if you don’t argue or have any confrontation or at least a small issue, there’s more likely to be something wrong. In my opinion there’s no better way to say ‘I love you’ than to have a huge screaming match on a completely irrational topic of your choice. It keeps the relationship fresh.

As long as you keep in contact and introduce a little spontaneity to keep the relationship blossoming over long distance, there’s no reason why the summer should have any say on how your relationship pans out- we are young after all, and uni isn’t just there to give us a degree, it’s to give us memories that we can keep for the forseeable future…though let’s face it…we all have those memories that should never be relived or spoken about ever again. Ever.