Classmate Dating Nightmare

College is an exciting place for many students, for so many reasons. For some, like me, it is a place to live independently and make my own decision everyday. Although it is a place of knowledge above all, it is also a place to meet the opposite sex, make friends and date. I, myself, was in a long-distance relationship at that time, but I saw many kinds of couples during my college years. Some couples were in long-distance relationships like I was, some were lived together; some met only once or twice in a week, and some never leaved each other’s sight except maybe for a few minutes as they took the same classes.

My nightmare with dating a classmate started and ended in high school. I came from a conservative community and went to a high school, that actually saw boys and girls mingling as a taboo. High school happens during developing time of our lives when opposite sex, dating and relationships seem new, exciting and interesting. But, I was a very serious student who took my studies very seriously. I was chosen along with a selected few to prepare for a national competitive exam, and so I had very little time for boys. But, there was a shy yet intelligent boy in the class who was infatuated with me. I guess who could say I was the first girl he really liked. He never spoke to me or did anything to indicate his feelings, except for staring at me during class (my friends told me). It was a little creepy, but very adorable at the same time.

Anyway, after months of nothing, I initiated a conversation and found out that he was a great guy. I was new to the whole dating thing and didn't really feel comfortable with the idea back then. So, I firmly told him, that we were friends. He agreed, and all was good, except in his mind; he basically assumed we were dating. After a while, he became excessively jealous, when I talked to other boys in the class and resented me for not really going along with his advances, and so he fought with me and created all kinds of hell for me in class. It actually became quite uncomfortable for me to go to class and see him everyday. I was also unfortunately sensitive back then and took everything to heart. So, I had spent and wasted a lot of time trying to subdue the animosity, which he developed towards me. We had common friends who were forced to pick sides, and that created a very gang-like environment in class. My focus on studies got side-tracked a bit and eventually had cost me a national rank.

After high school, we of course grew up and realized how immature we were for letting all the misunderstandings destroy our friendship. All is good now, and although we don’t regret anything, we often look back and think we could have avoided all the drama. I learned from that experience and never dared to date or commit to any of my classmates in college. This helped me tremendously because I got to avoid the drama and focus on what’s most important (my studies).

Spending every minute of each day with your boy/girl friend can get taxing for some. I also personally think it important to have alone time in college to grow individually. Besides, dating a classmate gets very sticky when jealousies come to play. I, however, had many friends who dated their classmates and were okay with it, but all agreed it can get very challenging at times.