<p>On the other hand, going in single is no guarantee of anything either. I met my now-boyfriend at our college’s accepted students’ weekend, when we were both still high school seniors. We stayed in touch over the summer and have been together since the second day of freshman orientation (we’ll be juniors in the fall). There’s no question we missed out on the Essential Freshman Year Experience™ because of it, but we’ve since made an effort to branch out and now have mostly separate social circles. I’d be lying if I said I don’t sometimes feel wistful thinking about the missed opportunities, and all the people I could’ve met if I’d gone out all those Friday nights instead of staying in… but I’ve gained so much from this experience, too, so I can’t call it time wasted. And like I said, we’ve made up for it later, even if we did get a slow start.</p>
<p>He’s studying abroad this quarter, and I’m still at school; next spring, it’ll be the same thing in reverse. I’m working on a volunteer project and pledging a sorority, spending time with old friends and meeting some new ones… and yes, occasionally spending two hours at a time on Skype, but not usually more than once or twice a week. </p>
<p>That really had nothing to do with the original question. I suppose the point is that any relationship takes time and commitment away from other friendships and activities, whether it’s long-distance or not. Being single freshman fall is probably ideal, but I wasn’t, and it hasn’t ruined my college experience. It did make things more complicated for a while, but we recalibrated, as I suspect most couples do. In our case that meant making a point of developing independent social networks, realizing that we didn’t have to spend every moment together just because we were in love. In others, it might mean breaking up (happened to two friends of mine and their high school boyfriends, and they’re fine now, too). </p>
<p>In other words: It’ll work out somehow. Don’t worry. Let her make her own choices, and do try to keep the commentary to a minimum. :)</p>