Wait…what? Are you breaking up with me?

Worried about your relationship? Gabrielle Lennon offers some much needed perspective.

We should really have that talk before we start university: this phrase will most likely be heard or uttered by hundreds of Warwick students with their partner at home.

Students accumulate many fears before they start university, including the possibility of living with impossible flatmates (I personally pictured Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory) and, for those who already have a boyfriend or girlfriend before university, the prospect of maintaining a healthy relationship.

Before you even start university, it is absolutely essential to first ask yourself, for lack of a kinder phrase, “is it worth it?”.

First year is all about making new friends and undertaking new experiences. In order for the relationship to even stand a chance, your girlfriend or boyfriend must be flexible, allow you to go out, and should not be the type to become angry if you struggle to remember much the next morning (inevitable if you chance upon Smack in Leamington).

Freshers Fortnight will be the most hilarious string of nights for students. If you have a partner who wants to ‘Skype Date’ instead of letting you buy as many £1 Vodka Redbulls as you want, your first year will be notably less fun than other students. Additionally, you will quickly get a reputation as someone who is ‘whipped’, possibly one of the worst put-downs for those with a significant other.

If the answer for the above question is “No…”, then maybe this is just not the right time for you to be in a long distance relationship, but after university it could be the right time for you and your partner.

If the answer to the question was, “Yes!”, if you put the effort in where it need be, you should be able to have an amazing year whilst keeping your boyfriend or girlfriend.

One of the greatest problems you will have to tackle is simply making time for each other. Indeed, you will have a lot of spare time on your hands, but those afternoons where you laze about in flatmates rooms are often the times where you go from acquaintances to life-long friends.

So bear in mind, even if you are just hanging around the flat with these people you don’t even know that well yet, that time is essential to get to know each other and should not always be assigned as ‘boyfriend/girlfriend time’.

Instead of ringing/Skyping whenever you are free from lectures, assign an hour or so to talk so you don’t just spend any free time endeavouring to contact them. Even if you speak a little bit everyday, this will make a huge difference.

Another obstacle every girl and boy must deal with is ‘beer goggles’. For girls, after a few jaegerbombs, the creepy guy in the corner may not seem so creepy anymore and instead resembles a rugged, short-ish Ryan Gosling. Whereas for guys the next morning’s defence is usually, “She wasn’t that fat.” For single people, the beer goggles only provide for potential embarrassment the next day. As demonstrated through the likes of the ladies and gentlemen on Geordie Shore, such pressures to ‘pull a worldie’ are rather competitive: in my flat we even had a Tally Chart in Term 1.

For those who are not single, beer goggles could end your relationship. Fortunately, in some circumstances, those in relationships may not be approached at all, these nights are known as ‘Traffic Light Parties’. As soon as us not-so-singletons put on red clothing, we may as well be wearing Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.

However, for when you are not at such parties: before you swoop in on Ryan Gosling’s unearthed twin, remember how many jagerbombs you have had (was it 5…or 6?), that you have made the effort to continue the relationship at university and it is definitely not worth throwing away at a hormone-fuelled Pop! night.

One term where you will have the least difficulty with batting off your many admirers is term 3. From what I have observed in First Year, this term is the ‘make it or break it’ era for those in long distance relationships. This stressful period means you may not see your boyfriend/girlfriend for many weeks but as you have all summer together after exams, do not fret about your relationship and concentrate on passing the year!

Ultimately, if he or she isn’t worth it, break it off before you end every night out upset and resentful of your relationship.

However if the boyfriend or girlfriend is a keeper, make sure you keep them!