Now that midterms are starting I’m sure everyone has noticed a sharp decline in their social lives. Since our teachers don’t seem to realize that we need sleep at some point during the week, I know they won’t rate having a life very high on their lists either. So now that school work and time spent in the library are eating away at our normal lives, what hope do we have for a love life?
Mostly it just comes down to having a little creative thinking in spending time with your partner.
The easiest way to spend some time together and balance school work is . . . wait for it . . . to do it with the other person! Ta-da. I realize it’s not the most fun thing to do but it at least gets the two of you some time together and maybe an incentive to study harder (or quicker, if you have plans afterwards). Sometimes having a study partner even if you’re not taking any of the same classes works to your advantage. Just think that having them there is kind of like have your reward right in front of you. Even if you don’t really talk very much while studying sometimes it’s nice to just have the other person there as a comforting presence when you get stressed out.
Not everyone wants to study together though — some of us would probably get totally distracted by the other person. Making out is, believe it or not, not an effective studying technique. So trying to find something to do together on campus can be a little bit of a challenge, especially something fun. But even during midterms, everyone needs to take a study break at some point. Try going to the rock wall in the fitness center together or even just sit down and grab a coffee. There are plenty of extracurricular nighttime events on campus, so if you do want a night together there’s no need to go far.
Also, try grabbing a quick dinner together, whether its home cooked or take out. It always works as a relaxing way to spend time together. For a healthy relationship you sometimes need those nights together. I know it can be tough with roommates and dorms. Try alternating whose place you spend nights at. That way no one’s roommates get too annoyed with you. But do try to spend a few nights together a week. Even if they are the weekends, those nights are important. For those of you in an intimate relationship, a certain amount of stress builds up just from the lack of a healthy sex life. If you have a certain level of intimacy that you’ve become used to with your partner then suddenly missing that can be distracting.
Whatever you do don’t let the stress of classes put a damper on your relationship. Remember that both of you have to deal with being overworked from classes. Your relationship shouldn’t be more stress added on top of everything else. You don’t have to see each other all the time — just focus on using your time together to relax.
