I've seen some great relationships and I've seen some bad ones in my three years of college. Here's a list of some gentlemen that (although not guaranteed) might force your relationship into a toxic cycle. Regardless, do as you wish...but don't say that I didn't warn you.
1. Helicopter boyfriend
Always there to catch you when you fall, which can be great! But…these are some of the more important times in your life to get to know yourself and be challenged as a learning experience. You just left your parents house, you need to learn how to do and handle things alone, not have someone else do all of it for you.
2. The Total-Frat-Boy
Yes, being involved in Greek life can be beneficial to your future because of brotherhood, networking, leadership and support. But, if you meet a frat boy who is only focused on his beer pong technique, hot chicks and how many kegs are going to be showing up at the party next weekend, then you should probably just thank him for his interest and keep walking.
3. Pump the Breaks
If you aren’t careful, this is the boyfriend that turns into a husband in 2.5 seconds. The minute you start talking to this guy, he is already getting excited about your future and jumping to affirm every possible similarities between the two of you. He wants to talk to you as much as possible, which you think is cute and it makes it apparent that he’s into you (a very attractive quality) and probably not interested or involved with anyone else (a superior attractive quality). Regardless, unless you tell him to “pump the breaks,” he will be trying to come home and meet your parents with you or making plans to move closer to you within the week.
4. The Zero-Committer
Very well, and often, portrayed in movies as the “womanizer.” This is the gentlemen who is unsure of everything in his life and instead of trying to take a breath and challenge himself to figure it all out, has decided that he can instead take advantage of women’s insecurities and keep several women on speed dial (which really just makes his life messier than it had been).
5. Shameful Pleasure
As a general rule, if you aren’t willing to spend time with your boyfriend in public, introduce him to your friends, or bring him home, you definitely should not be in that relationship. For whatever reason, if you aren’t comfortable spending time incorporating him into your everyday life, don’t get involved.
6. Ex-Obsessed
Let’s get real for a second. If your boyfriend is dumb enough to compare you to his ex at all, LEAVE. You’re putting in way too much time and committing too much into something that could disappear from one text message. This is the boyfriend who will leave you as soon as he gets a chance with his ex, regardless of where she is, how long it’s been or their current relationship.
7. Always Distracted
We’ve all endured the grueling interaction where you are trying to hold a conversation with someone who WILL NOT get off their phone (you may have even been the one with the phone), but this relationship is the epitome of this example. This is the boyfriend who will not get off his phone at the dinner table after you begged him to take you out at all. College is a time for adventure and exploration, not sitting at your boyfriend’s house talking to his roommates because he can’t pay any attention to you.
8. Be-littler
This is one of the worst boyfriends you could have in any stage of your life. One of the most important things to consider when getting into a relationship is how that person makes you feel about yourself. If you’re considering getting into a relationship, or are in a relationship, where your significant other makes you feel like you are anything less than what you want to be, get out. You need to be with someone who is going to challenge you and build you up, not bury you and bring you down.
9. For Convenience
This is an extremely dangerous relationship to be in because it's so easy to have fallen into this trap without knowing it. If you're dating someone and it's difficult to come up with reasons for staying in that relationship besides the fact that you have been together for x amount of years, you do not owe it to that person to "maintain" that relationship any longer. you owe it to that person to be honest and maybe give them a chance to work on it if you're willing to put effort in as well, but also maybe walk away.
10. Non-Communicative
This boyfriend is very similar to number seven, except the main difference is that he will not try to work through any of the problems that you believe are present. He will make you feel as though you, and your relationship, aren't important to him and therefore are not worth his time. Unfortunately for him, you're amazing and need to get out of that toxic relationship.
