The Friday Five: Couples You Meet In College

As part of my Five People You Meet In College series (see boys, girls, friends and roommates), I would like to address a new topic — the couples you meet in college. Throughout your university years, you will meet many couples in the dorms and beyond. Some (usually the product of a drunken night out) will last about a week; others, much longer. This week, we will explore some of those relationships we witness across campus. Feel free to add your own observations in the comments section!

The Friday Five: Couples You Meet In College

1. Attached At The Hip.
You have rarely ever seen these two apart since they first began dating, and when you do get one of them alone, anything they say is usually prefaced with “My boyfriend and I,” or “My girlfriend says.” You often wonder if the two could ever really exist for more than a day apart, as they are constantly hand-in-hand, associating with the same groups of people and joining the same organizations. The word couple might be used ironically to describe them, because often they appear to be one person.

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2. The Extremely Awkward Couple.
Reminiscent of that bizarre, PDA-ridden goth couple you knew in high school, the Extremely Awkward Couple consists of two people you didn’t realize actually existed in the dating world. Because both of these people were late bloomers when it came to relationships, they try to make up for lost time by showing off just how smitten they are with one another. However, neither one knows how to navigate a relationship among others, and so they often scare off the innocent bystanders with their inappropriate affections and occasional graphic descriptions.

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3. The Oddly-Mismatched Couple.
For these two, the phrase “Opposites attract” has never been more true. Although both people might be equally likable (but not always!) and hold equal value, neither seems to be the other one’s type. When you first hear that they are dating, you wonder how they even met or what they possibly could have had in common. Sometimes, you might even think that one of these people is out of the other one’s league in some way, but usually the members of the Oddly-Mismatched Couple adhere to different interests, personalities and activities. They’re dating? Ha! Certainly they are just playing a prank on us.

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4. On Again/Off Again.
Every time you log onto Facebook, it seems that Jake and Lucy have either broken up or gotten back together. At this point, you’ve stopped counting. Lucy is convinced that Jake is The One and that they are secretly part of some greater overall love story, and there’s something about Lucy that Jake just can’t let go of, so they keep trying for a relationship amidst their constant fighting. A night out with Lucy and Jake can be extremely uncomfortable for their friends, who are never sure if the two are hot or cold. The On Again/Off Again couple might be headed for the altar (and then a speedy divorce), or they might eventually fizzle out when Jake meets a model on vacation that summer, but they are college’s version of Ron and Sammi from Jersey Shore.

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5. The Power Couple.
These two are really going places, and everybody knows it. Neither one needs the other, but together they are unstoppable. Whether this is because of their looks, intellect, talents or campus leadership, the Power Couple is the kind of couple you look at and wonder how two people could be so perfect. Then you ask yourself why you haven’t done more this year, because these two are putting you and your boyfriend to shame. Although they do participate in some organizations together and run in some of the same circles, they also have their separate spheres of influence and wide array of admirers. If the On Again/Off Again Couple can be compared to Ron and Sammi from Jersey Shore, then the Power Couple is the campus equivalent to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

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What are some of the couples you’ve witnessed on campus? Do you and your significant other fall into any of these categories?