Dear The Hookup, I'm a senior here in Santa Fe and
am planning on going to a college here in New Mexico next year. My girlfriend and I have been together for three years and are really happy together and want to stay together in college. The only problem is she's planning on going to a school in Colorado and I don't know how much we'll see each other throughout the year. Any advice? — College Confused Dear CC, It takes a lot to keep a relationship going through college, let alone long distance. You two have been together a while, and that will definitely help, but realistically, not every couple makes it through their freshman year away. The best thing you can do to remain together is to be completely honest and open with each other. This may mean that you might find out about behavior or infidelities that you don't like, but to a certain degree, you have to excuse each other's exploration as long as you are both happy and want to continue your relationship. Good luck! - Alice Jets Dear CC, Having a long-distance relationship during your freshman year in college is probably a bad idea. Not to imply that neither of you would stay faithful, but there are no guarantees. Also, being "committed" in college is hard and tends to keep you from actually experiencing life because you'll be tethered to this other person hundreds of miles away. What you should probably do is make a clean break before she leaves, so that feelings are hurt now, rather than later because one of you messed up. — Gaston Hipsley Gaston and Alice are aliases for two
GenNext staff writers. They are not relationship experts. They offer advice to teens on anything from friendships to romantic relationships. Reach them at thehookup_gennext@yahoo.com.