Wading through the college dating pool can be tough, especially through the first semester when new love springs up as soon as school begins. Here are a few tips to make it through those tough days as a single college student.
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College is hard.
Yeah, equations are difficult to memorize, a healthy amount of sleep each night is impossible to come by and the thought of the massive pile of bills you are accumulating is a bit horrifying.
However, the struggle I’m talking about is the romance aspect.
Even if we’d like to deny it, relationships are a huge part of college life.
If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly thinking of ways to get past the mad rush all the freshmen have to find a significant other. Well, I have a list for you.
Here are a few things for you to remember during this seemingly endless and difficult season in your life:
1. You are you, no matter how tirelessly you try to be someone else.
Sometimes you might think it would just be easier to be somebody you’re not.
Maybe you think you’re too nerdy or not athletic enough or you don’t have enough money, but what you need to remember is that God has you right where he wants you.
Being someone else won’t make you happier.
2. Validity isn’t something you earn; it’s something you already possess.
So many people place their validity in how their peers view them and whether or not they can get a date.
While I know that being our age is hard, I’m here to tell you that the only person you need to make happy is yourself.
Don’t place your worth in how other people treat you, there will always be someone who makes you feel like less than you are, but you’re so much more than even you believe.
3. Don’t be selfish. Spend your money and your time on other people. You will be infinitely happier.
Your single years are just about the only time where you will have money to blow.
You could definitely spend it on new clothes and electronics, but I guarantee you, you will feel much better and more fulfilled if you spend your money somewhere it’s needed.
There are an infinite number of organizations that would love to take your money and even your time if you want to volunteer.
Be a force for good in your world before you trade in your free time for date nights.
4. Value your friends.
These are the people who, despite the crazy things you do and feel, love you and want to still hang out with you.
Don’t take them for granted by constantly wishing you could replace them with a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Make sure you spend time with them, do adventurous things with them and make memories that you all can look back on after you’re married and busy.
5. Don’t rush through life.
Think about it, you’re already in college.
High school is over and you are four years away from being a legitimate adult.
Don’t rush through life by wishing you were doing something else.
You aren’t in a relationship now, but you are going to a university in one of the greatest cities in America.
So enjoy it.
I wanted to share my thoughts with you because I know how hard it is to be single when it seems like everyone else isn’t.
But you aren’t alone and you certainly don’t have to try to navigate the stormy seas of singleness on your own.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens.”
Triston Buckley 
Emily Retzer