“I think it’s better to break up now than be held back by my significant other in college, but I’m still really sad about our decision,” said a senior who wished to remain anonymous while discussing the struggles of her intimate high school relationship.

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, time is ticking for the couples of B-CC to decide whether they will stay together or break up for college. And for many couples, it can be an emotional conversation to have on top of the final steps in the college process.

Being in a long-distance relationship differs for everyone. Senior Sam Siedow will attend the University of Minnesota while her boyfriend remains in Maryland. Siedow and her boyfriend plan on staying together throughout college. “I feel good about it,” said Siedow, adding, “We both feel there’s no point in not trying to make long-distance work because we value each other and our relationship.”

However, most couples did not even consider attending the same college as each other. “I would’ve been happy to attend the same school, but we were looking into different programs and college environments, so going to different colleges fit our needs better,” said Siedow. Agreeing with Siedow, senior Hannah Rubin said, “I didn’t want to base my decision on someone else.” Kacedon also agrees, jokingly stating, “I don’t think I could get into the same colleges as my girlfriend in the first place.” He also added that separating in college because of distance helps leave the relationship on good terms, rather than having a messy breakup while being thousands of miles away. 

Senior Maddie Leff does not have any plans to break up with her long-term girlfriend, sharing, “As excited as I am for college, I am not at all excited to be leaving my girlfriend and having to face the idea of long distance or separation.”

Whether both partners agree to a long-distance relationship or break up, coming to a mutual agreement can ease stress and decrease worries about the upcoming move to college. However, concluding college plans is difficult for some B-CC couples. “I think the consensus is that we are going to break up before college, but it has been a very vague topic of conversation,” said senior Aiden Kacedon, emphasizing how emotionally straining breakups can be. “I’ve talked about it with my boyfriend, but we haven’t come to an official conclusion,” said the anonymous senior. This senior eventually said they would most likely break up before college.

Senior Liana Hwang, a Gender and Sexuality Alliance council member, weighs in on long-distance relationships within the LBTQ+ community, commenting, “I’d imagine that there’s a higher rate of queer couples staying together because in a lot of cases the dating pool is a lot smaller.”

Terminating a relationship is a decision that is different for every couple. Everyone has differing thoughts regarding long-distance relationships, and each couple needs to decide what will work best for them. “You’re not going to be the same person you were in high school after college… I think it’s good to grow separately for a bit, but you can always find each other again,” concluded Kacedon.