Let's face it, college is a completely unstable environment. The day you move into your dorm or set foot on campus for your first day of classes, you are personally signing up to ride an emotional roller coaster for the next four or five years. Your sleeping schedule will become uncertain, you will have to learn time management, and at the same time, you will be meeting new friends left and right, and thinking about what clubs or activities you want to devote even more of your time to.
A lot of people enter this roller coaster already in a committed relationship. This can either go one of two ways: you can discover that your relationship is as strong as you thought it was and stay with your significant other for a good amount of time afterwards. Or you could realize that college is coming in between your relationship and either one of you, or both of you, cannot handle the stress that it puts on the relationship.
Others enter a relationship while they're already on the roller coaster. After "experiencing the college life" a little, developing habits and settling in, you may find that you are more stable and can start a relationship. These relationships are often the ones that have a better chance of succeeding, (although some high school relationships do make it, don't get me wrong!)
But it is also important to realize that despite the fact you are on the road to the rest of your life and want someone to share it with, you do not need to have a relationship during college.
I firmly believe that the time you spend in college is supposed to be a time period of self-exploration and finding out who you truly are. This is why students switch majors, join and quit activities, and go through several groups of friends before finally ending up content. Although you feel like after high school, you should know what you want to do for the rest of your life, this isn't true at all; it's only begun after high school.
The same applies for relationships. You may feel like you're supposed to be settled down and stable with someone too. It's possible that you know that your parents settled down together at that age and that they had their lives together too. But the same truth is not for everyone.
By saying this, I am not trying to imply anything badly to those who are in relationships during college; it is your own choice, and I definitely respect that. But my point is that you should not feel obligated to go looking for one and that it is OK to be single.
I often find that the best things come to those who wait, so if you're waiting to find that significant other and not looking, you could end up with the best result. But more than anything, focus on yourself during this time period, because it is the only time in your life where you can afford to be a little bit selfish.
