Upon reflection I've decided that college is pretty much the worst thing someone can subject a romantic relationship to. Here are some potential scenarios, and how college completely ruins them.
1. You're in a committed relationship from high school when you start college.
How college ruins it...
a) Suddenly you're separated from each other because you decided to go to different schools. You try to call each other and Skype and instant message each other. Maybe you even do something romantic like write each other letters. It doesn't change the fact that you are hundreds or even thousands of miles apart. Eventually the physical separation will get to you, and the two of you will start fighting, or just "grow apart" because everyone changes in college.
There's always the issue of suspicion when you're in a long-distance relationship also. You don't really have any way of knowing that your significant other isn't cheating, and this can be especially worse if either of you are the jealous type. You can try to solve this by checking up on the other person ALL THE TIME, but this will inevitably lead to conflict because no one wants to have to report back to someone, especially in college when you've finally gained independence from your parents. Even if your significant other doesn't mind, his/her friends likely will, and suddenly they're being convinced by all their friends that you're a terrible person to date.
b) You decide to go to the same college, or to two colleges that are very close together. Both of you are now surrounded by thousands (if not tens-of-thousands) of attractive people your age that you're interacting with on a daily basis. Jealousy, or at least being possessive/protective, is almost impossible to ward off. Particularly because a main goal of most college-bound students is to make friends and meet people.
Both of you have now become incredibly busy as well. Sure, you were going to do things together all the time, but with conflicting schedules and not wanting to miss out on any opportunities, suddenly the time you both could spend together has become almost non-existent.
You might even find your interests diverging. People change in college, and for the most part it's for the better. Unfortunately, that may mean that you and your significant other are no longer compatible. It's no one's fault, but it happens.
2. You're single when you start college.
How college ruins it...
You think to yourself, now that I'm in college, it will be super easy to meet people and get into a relationship with someone awesome.
What you don't realize, is that there are three types of people in college:
(1) The people who just want to hook up at parties and maybe have a friend-with-benefits that lasts longer than a night, but not much longer than a few weeks. If this is what you want, good for you, you're in the right place.
(2) The people who somehow are sincerely uninterested in having any sort of romantic relationship. They're paying X number of dollars to be here, and they want to focus on school, or clubs, or whatever it is they're so passionate about.
(3) The people who actually don't really like casual physical relationships and want some emotional support and commitment along with it. These are the people you're looking for. Unfortunately, pretty much every single one of them are going to already be in a relationship, so you're out of luck. If you do manage to find someone like this who is single, and is interested in you, grab them up quick. Keep in mind that you're now in a relationship in college though, and are subject to the pitfalls back up in 1.b.
This being said, if your relationship does manage to survive college, good for you. I realize that these descriptions aren't true of everyone. For those of you trying to navigate your romance through your collegiate studies, I wish you the best of luck!
