My boyfriend and I go to different colleges and I'm so glad we do. When I first met my boyfriend, it was almost two summers ago and he was already going to be a sophomore in college and I was going to be a freshman so we were already going to different schools before we made it official.
We live about 20 minutes away from each other at home when we're not in school, but when we are, it's about an hour, which is not bad at all compared to other relationships who do the distance. I thought the distance would be hard since I wouldn't be able to see my boyfriend for weeks at a time sometimes, but in the end, I believe it's what makes our relationship strong and everlasting.
If we went to the same school, I'm almost certain that we would not be together right now. When we're away at college, we get time to do things for ourselves like hanging out with friends, working, be in sports etc. And being away from each other builds up the excitement for when we'll see each other next (for me at least!). Even though my boyfriend and I go to different schools, we see each other quite a bit since we both have cars and the drive is easy enough.
We may see each other more than other couples who go to different schools, but healthy relationships still involve space from each other. We get the whole week and weekends to ourselves or with our friends from college (besides when we're visiting each other). I know if we went to the same college, I'd get the urge to ask him to hang out and steer away from studying or doing my homework.
My previous boyfriend from high school and I always saw each other, pretty much every day. That's one of the reasons I believe we didn't work out and another reason some relationships in college don't work out. With my boyfriend I have right now, I never get sick of seeing him since I only see him a few times every month. I've never felt a stronger bond with any other guy I've been with because of this.
My boyfriend gets time with his friends and I get time with mine. He gets alone time and I get alone time, which is always needed even if you don't think so. I know I don't need to become dependent on him and he doesn't need to become dependent on me so we can each be our own independent person while keeping a relationship.
We are both very aware that school is our number one priority and we both have our lives ahead of us. I know if we can make it work by going to different schools, we can work through a lot of other stuff. But, if you happen to be in a relationship where you and your boyfriend go to the same college and it's working out, props to you, because I don't think I could do it.
