Romantic Baggage Drags You Down

Being a first year student is all about independence, trying new things, meeting new people, spending your money on alcohol and definitely not for bringing romantic baggage. Part of the varsity experience is meeting new people who you find attractive and to explore with your sexual boundaries, without having to have a mental picture of your boyfriend/girlfriend in the back of your mind while you are making progress and may be well on your way to exploring new habits.
In my opinion starting an exciting, eventful adventure as a first year student at Rhodes cannot be reached when you are emotionally attached to a person that is far away while new talent is catching the corner of your eye every time you walk to a new lecture. Every time you enjoy an eventful night out, and I speak on behalf of the students at Rhodes when I say eventful, as absolutely anything can happen during your journey from the union all the way to friar tuck, as you encounter new energetic students that will most likely share the same party instincts as yourself. Sharing the same philosophy as myself on relationships is Pink Monkey, from http://www.bungeemylife.blogspot.com/, who believes that, “Long Distance relationships go with university like toothpaste goes with orange juice! When you go to university in another town you should break up with your boy/ girl friend because you will cheat on them.” As much as you think you have the will power to say no, the truth is that the temptation will always be there, at every bar and across every street. Its only human to get attracted to the opposite sex and want to get intimate, so rather safe yourself the pain and temptation and approach Rhodes as a single, excited new first year, open to all chances and challenges. In my experience, as my matric year came to an end, I told myself to let go of the past and to open my doors to new possibilities, not only because of matric rage which lay ahead, but I new I was coming to Rhodes, a university flooding with potential and talent, and I recommend this step to all matrics that are willing to attempt a long distance relationship. Within all relationships both partners are required to make an effort. With a long distance relationship the effort is just a bit more. It is about making a conscious attempt everyday to make your relationship work.
This is only my opinion, therefore I’m not telling you to just throw your relationship away, if you have a good thing going then by all means take the plunge, but most students know that it will make life a lot easier for both partners if you each start fresh as first year students. The commitment asked for a long-distance relationship is intense and it just builds up unnecessary stress onto yourself when you are actually here to have a good time, so to save yourself a lot of pain, stress and sleepless nights get rid of the itch and party hard.