For many students romantic relationships are a lighthouse in the fog that is the rigors of university life, including high expectations, unlimited essays, and exams that somehow always creep up on you out of the blue. In this sense, a partner can be a great source of comfort. Having this companionship ensures all your achievements are celebrated, no matter how small, and a shoulder to lean on in the tougher moments.
a healthy relationship has mutual effort, respect, and awareness at its core.
Yet these very relationships, at times, can become the origin of tension and unpleasant emotions. Notoriously university timetables can be chaotic, the deadlines are fast approaching, and of course, nobody wants to miss their Wednesday social. So, where does this leave you and your partner? Unfortunately, one party can feel neglected. It is imperative in times such as these to reflect on your emotions in order to identify the root of this feeling. In addition to this, communication is arguably the most important skill one must utilise to translate these feelings to their partner and build constructive conversations about changes that perhaps could be made within the relationship. After all, a healthy relationship has mutual effort, respect, and awareness at its core.
Does absence truly make the heart grow fonder? For those in a long-distance relationships, trust often can be the largest psychological challenge. Often moving to new unknown cities mixes exhilaration with nerves for both the individual moving and the person elsewhere. On occasion, the distance can conjure feelings of isolation and detachment. Always having plans in place and taking time out for each other in small gestures has the potential to ease these feelings and feel reassured.
Self-love should be acknowledged just as much as all other forms.
I could not discuss love without recognising all forms, including that of platonic love. It is a common experience for friends to relocate to a myriad of regions for further education. Some crossing towns, the North and South of the UK, and some country borders apart. Advocating for quality over quantity, having meaningful connections when you are able to ensures the friendship remains inseparable. Although the distance is often tricky to navigate due to term times, travel costs, and external commitments, the feeling of reunion is undoubtedly the best by far, and it feels as though you’ve never been apart. The inside jokes never age, the same event is revisited for the fiftieth time this year but never appears to become monotonous, and the feeling of being in one another’s company should be cherished.
Finally, to a plethora of students, the university experience encompasses far more than solely academics, it is the location and opportunity for self-growth, development, and independence. It is a truly transformative environment where students widen their horizons at a time of transference into the 'real world'. Self-love should be acknowledged just as much as all other forms. Learning to put yourself first is empowering and should be celebrated, alongside immersing yourself in all opportunities available to you, creating the future you wish and aim for.
So, no matter your situation, love comes in all forms, and all forms should be celebrated and respected. As Olivia Dean puts it, “The more you look, the more you find, it’s all around you all the time.”