I met my boyfriend the summer before my first semester of college and it was love at first sight (or at least for me it was). The downside to meeting at that time was that I was moving an hour away in a few short months and he still had two years of high school left. We were the same age but in different stages of our life. We knew it was going to be difficult, but we were going to make it work.

Telling people at my school that I’m dating a high schooler makes me get some strange looks and lots of questions like “Why?” “Don’t you know there are much more mature guys here?” “Isn’t he worried about you doing something more mature than he can handle?” I get questions all the time. But, the one thing people don’t ask is “How fun is it dating a younger guy?” If I were to get asked this question, I would be able to respond so excitedly that it’s so great! The age difference doesn’t mean that we don’t get to have fun! In fact, I’m having more “high school fun” than I did while I was in high school myself.

You get to relive some of the fun parts of high school.

Whether it’s going to basketball games or going to dances, you get to relive all of them and this time it is with someone you truly love. If you’re anything like me, you avoided high school dances at all cost; luckily my boyfriend is the same way. However, if that is something you really enjoyed in high school, BINGO you get to enjoy it all over again. High school parties, while a little lame to a college kid, can be very fun when you’re with the right people and you get to watch your man in his natural habitat around his friends. A win, win for both of you. College can get very boring if you’re not involved in a lot of things, and spending time with high schoolers makes you feel a little older than you really are, but definitely adds some fun into your life.

I never really went to any sporting event in high school, because I simply didn’t care about supporting my school until my senior year and then I had to work. Since I was like that, it would only make sense that I date someone that is on his high school basketball team, right? I love going to his games and cheering him on when he plays. I even got a t-shirt that says “He owns the court but I own his heart.” I mean, how great is that?! I would never get to experience how fun basketball games could be if it were not for my boyfriend.

You can hear all of the high school drama without being involved.

Drama is one of the biggest things that comes with being in high school. It’s unavoidable. But, if you’re not involved first-hand, you can just sit back and enjoy hearing about the drama that you are no longer dealing with every day. You can joke about people without worrying about if you will hurt their feelings or if you will get in trouble, because you don’t actually know the people that you’re joking about and there’s no principal in real life to punish you (THANK GOODNESS!).

You can help him realize that there is more than high school.

Everyone knows that high school is one of the hardest, most trying times. You want to feel accepted, but you also want to be yourself. You want lots of friends, but you want everyone to be a good friend. Whenever you get out of high school, you realize that these thing really don’t matter, however, when you’re immersed in it for four long years, you think it’s all there is to life. When your boyfriend feels as if he doesn’t have many friends, you feel for him. But, you also want him to know that in life you’re not going to have many friends, and that’s okay! It’s hard to watch him go through hard times, and you realize that it’s not the end of the world because you have been there, but you have to be there for him and show him love when he really needs it.

Dating a younger guy when you’re in college, while sometimes weird, is also a very special thing. You love harder because of separation and help each other grow in ways that you had no idea that you could. My boyfriend has helped me in so many ways that I can’t even begin to name, and despite his younger age, he is the love of my life and that is the greatest thing that I could ask for. Loving him is the most special and greatest thing that I’ve been able to experience. Age doesn’t affect love, but it sure can make it fun.