How to Breakup with Your Summer Fling
So you’ve been steadily hooking up with your summer romance, and as great as it has been summer is nearly over. You are stuck at a crossroad. Do you dump and dash, or DTR (define the relationship)?
Realistically most friends with benefits do not transition well to friends with a title. Most people are afraid to be tied down and stay monogamous. Who wouldn’t be? Friends with benefits ensures that you get the goods and leave out all the hard stuff like feelings and titles. Would people go to college if it was all party and no school, but you still got a degree? The answer is without a doubt yes. No long boring classes or tedious assignments, yet you would get the same perks of a college degree and fun. This is the same case with relationships. They are complicated. So when you simplify it from the beginning, why voluntarily make it harder.
There’s not to say there are no exceptions to this rule: I am living proof. I was lucky enough to DTR last summer with my summer romance. For the sake of making him seem more complex and mysterious, let’s call him Mr. Big (my ode to Sex and the City). Big and I started off as friends then progressed to friends with benefits. I had planned on doing the dump and dash myself, but I really fell for Big and he fell for me. We have been dating for over a year now, and its been absolutely magical. Unfortunately most people do not have this happy ending. From my experience as a wild 20-something, it is best to be the dumper and dasher before you get dumped and dashed yourself.
So save the tears, put on your big girl panties and dump the dude. In an interpersonal class, I learned that relationships that begin in a hook up atmosphere do not transcend well into a romantic relationship.
According to hookingupsmart.com, “Average relationship quality was higher for individuals who waited until things were serious to have sex compared to those who became sexually involved in ‘hookups,’ ‘friends with benefits,’ or casual dating relationships.”
Is it all worth the risk? The numbers are not on your side, so enjoy one last hook up, a free meal, and let your summer romance go. Do not think twice, because then you will question yourself. Just think, fall is around the corner and that is the time to truly fall in love. This hook up is realistically going no where, and that’s science.
For those of you who are risky enough to try, jump for it! I aimed high, but had low expectations, and it surprisingly worked. Be prepared for the unknown and keep your options open, you owe yourself that much.
Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Christina aspires to be a public relations professional in a big city after graduation from James Madison University. In her free time when she’s not blogging away about dating and relationships, Christina loves to go shopping, watch Netflix and play with every puppy that crosses her path.