Girlfriends from High School

College Kids,

I'm a freshman in college but I still have my girlfriend from home. Is this a good idea?

Nick
19 Years Old
New Jersey


Nick,

This is one of the hardest questions that a college freshman can face. We can't give you an answer on whether or not you should stay together but we can give you some input based on our personal experiences.

Out of all the college kids, four of us had girlfriends going into college. Two of us had been in a relationship for almost a year, one for over 6 months, and one for only days. Now we are all in our junior years and only the couple that started dating just before leaving for school is still together. Out of the other three, two lasted all of freshman year and the other lasted through sophomore year. None broke up just because they were away at college, most actually happened during the summer.

Trust - If you haven't been dating a while or just don't have much trust yet it could be an issue. You are going to have more freedom than ever and will get to know many more people. If you can't trust each other, it will never work. Ironically, only the couple that started dating right before leaving to go to school is still together.

Visiting - Long distance relationships can work but they are extremely difficult. If you cannot see each other at least every few weeks it may be too difficult. The less you see each other the more you have to communicate.

Communication - In order to make a long distance relationship work you are going to have to communicate. Instant messenger and text messages are okay but if you don't talk on the phone for a while every day you're likely to drift apart and that will be the beginning of the end.

Being Spontaneous - When you're apart and in a long distance relationship it's easy to get stuck in a boring pattern where you say and do the same things all the time. Make sure you surprise each other, send some mail, gifts, or flowers, anything will help.

These are just some simple pieces of advice but the main thing is to never get discouraged and to never give up! If you really want the relationship to succeed you can make it happen. It will never be easy but remember, that's not what it's about.

Good luck!

The College Kids

High School Friends

College Kids,

I have a group of really close friends from High School and am afraid that I am going to lose touch with them in college. We are all going to different schools in different areas. How likely is it that we will keep our friendship alive?

Stacy
18 Years Old
Eldredge, CO

Stacy,

I have some good news and some bad news for you. I will start with the bad: The majority of high school groups lose touch in college. The good: Many high school friends are as close (if not closer) in college.

Whether or not you stay close depends on the relationships themselves. I have found that many high school friends are not as "close" as they appear. Many people change entering college and lose similarities they once had with their friends. On the other hand some friendships are close and are for real. In this case it is very likely that they will survive.

In the end you just need to remember that eventually the true friends stay and the fake ones leave.

Cheers!

The College Kids

High School Pranks

College kids,

Did you guys ever do any pranks in high school worth telling about?

Chrissy
18 years old
New York, NY


Chrissy,

We all had our little jokes and pranks, but none really stuck out to much. A friend of ours though did something that is quite amazing in my book though.

These kids were editors of the newspaper for their high school and they totally took advantage of it. First they named the school newspaper "The Shocker", and got away with it, and on top of that they wrote this article that was on the front page.

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The sweet thing about it is the faculty and staff had no clue what the shocker even meant, and they didn't even find out until much later when some students told them. They were told not to walk at graduation, but I think it was well worth it in the end because the article is priceless.

Cheers,

The College kids

Extra Curricular

Hey college kids,

What kind of extra curricular activities did you guys do while in high school?

Henry
17 years old
South Carolina



Henry,

While in high school I did a number of things. I was in the concert band and wind ensemble. I participated in key club as well. As for sports, I was a member of both the winter and spring tracks teams. The other College Kids did a bunch of other things too such as National Honors Society, Soccer, Tennis, Cross Country, amongst various others.

Stay classy,

The College Kids