It’s back-to-school time and everyone is attempting to organize their lives into perfectly color-coded bins purchased from Bed Bath & Beyond — only they have yet to find out that one thing doesn’t fit quite so perfectly into these bins, namely, your relationships (or lack thereof).
It’s hard to meet new people, be the responsible student, make the most of your day and still have time to be alone. The dilemma here is how to start a school year successfully, while still keeping your options open for possibly beginning a new relationship or keeping the one you already have. The solution is simple, but does require balance.
Balance isn’t just a term used in your yoga class or to describe your diet; it should also be used to organize your relationship bin. Life in general will be better when you use balance as your guide in your school work, social as well as sex life and wellbeing.
This doesn’t mean that in one day you can’t sleep in late, go to an all-day party, find some cool girl to hang out with all night and barely make it home at 3 a.m. You just have to ensure that the next day you get all your homework finished, all your laundry cleaned, and that you study for your midterm. In other words, everyone’s concept of balance is going to look the same; some need to fit all of their hookups and sleepovers into their weekend, while others seem to have no problem weaving them in throughout the week’s tasks.
It also means you don’t have to find that significant other right in the beginning of the quarter. If your life requires focus on school in the beginning and a social life later, follow through with that. If that person is right for you, he or she will most likely still be waiting next month. And if you’re already in a serious relationship, a lot of that back-to-school stress won’t affect you since you’ve both already learned how to make a relationship work.
If the balance isn’t really there, it might be time to try something new. For example, if studying on the bed is too tempting for you, try going to the library or making goals for one another. When a goal is reached, give each other some sort of reward.
This way you’ll get stuff done as well as enjoying each other’s company.
Not everyone can be lucky enough to find the perfect boyfriend who just so happens to live right across the hall; it might take a little more work than that. Getting involved in as many things as possible is your best bet for finding that perfect relationship at any time of the year. You don’t have to be the life of the party; you just have to be at some parties. Don’t be afraid to join clubs, run, swim and bike for the triathlon team or even cheer for the football team from the bleachers. You’re guaranteed to meet the most people by just putting yourself out there and doing new things.
So, while keeping up with your responsibilities when school begins, don’t forget to put yourself out there and do things you’ve never done, because you never know who you might meet and what adventures you will have.