Extend your Summer romance into a relationship that lasts through the Fall semester. Sexpert David breaks the stereotypes of summer lovin’.
Hot bodies. Heated temperatures. Passion. Sex. Young love. Tan skin. All of these are ideas come to mind when I think of the words “Summer Love.”
We’ve moved past the innocence of Grease, and developed our generation’s own interpretation of summer lovin’. But one thing seems to remain the same: as the summer fades into fall semester, we tend to lose sight of our lovers. In order to prevent this stereotypical pattern from occurring, check out my list of tips for preventing your heated fling from cooling off post-Labor Day.
Take the Type-A approach: It all boils down to scheduling. Countless relationships get lost in the shuffle of work and school schedules come fall, and my hypothesis is that this occurs because of a lack of scheduling efficiency amongst the individuals. Sure, it’s great to be able to work 40 hours a week and be enrolled in five courses at school, but you also have to work in time for a good roll-in the hay every now and then. By having an open conversation with your partner about both of your schedules, you can prevent your relationship from getting lost in a slew of appointments, classes and homework.
Each of you should begin by writing out your school and work schedules in order to allow for an honest comparison. Be sure to budget in time for commuting to and from work or school (rush-hour traffic in this city means it takes an hour to get anywhere). From this initial comparison, you should recognize mutual times when you have the opportunity to spend time together. You will also have a better understanding of when you can schedule time with your friends while your partner is in class or at work.
Of course the major concern occurs when you both have opposing schedules. I recently ran into this issue when I started dating a Holt student over the summer. Sure our summer was bountiful of leisurely free time where we could laze around in the hot afternoon, but come August our courses and work schedules were going to be opposing one another. Alas, the day student verses night student conundrum was certainly going to be a problem for our relationship. That’s when the modifications started. I switched around my school schedule to allow for a four-day weekend, and limited my work schedule at my part-time job to weekdays only, leaving my weekends free for my summer love.
In my case, scheduling changes were easily solved by a little effort and several trips to student records. However, scheduling is usually an issue tackled by concessions from both individuals—if the relationship matters, you’ll make the change.
Don’t stop having sex. While one benefit of sex is stress relief, I know very few people who enjoy having sex when they are up against stressful homework deadlines. Hopefully you’ve followed the advice in the former subsection and carved out time to spend with one another, but this is often replaced with homework dates at Olin Library as the semester progresses. Thus it becomes important for each partner to be accountable for maintaining a healthy sexual relationship, or else the flame quickly fizzles and you each find yourself pathetically and shamefully masturbating at separate times throughout the week.
Remember, sex is often considered a gauge on the health of a relationship. Thus not having sex means the love between one another is beginning to fade, and you’ll quickly find yourself single around fall break.
Keep the flame lit by trying new sexual practices that are both time effective and passionate. For example, try shower sex out if you haven’t already added that to your daily routines. Everyone showers throughout the day, so why not do it together? There are so many benefits to shower sex: you both end up clean and ready to start your day; you save water and the environment; you are each capitalizing on time efficiency; and you each get to cum outside of a masturbatory context. It’s a winner all around.
Of course shower sex doesn’t always work out, especially if you’re living in an on-campus dormitory. In these situations it’s best to have sleepovers. Ending your day with one another and going to bed means (a) you’re capitalizing on a practice that makes up 1/3 of your life (b) sex is most likely going to happen (c) CUDDLING (need I say more?). If you do live in a dorm with a roommate you must have a conversation ahead of time regarding your partner sleeping over. Under no circumstance should you jeopardize the comfort of your roommate for sexual benefit. For tips on sexiling a roommate properly, check out my Dorm Sex column.
Plan a vacation together. I am the biggest believer in weekend getaways. In fact I have a slew of Michael Kors luggage prepped and ready for weekend escapes with my partner at a moments notice. Of course, we cannot all afford to head off to different cities with our boyfriend or girlfriend every weekend. Which makes planning a vacation an exciting affair for all involved.
Escaping the stress of Winter Park and heading off to a new destination is clearly one of the many benefits of a vacation; as is the chance to spend an exclusive amount of time with one another. But the heart of the excitement lies in the planning stages of the vacation. What will you do together? Where will you go? How will you travel? Making those decisions helps create an escape that each of you is able to look forward to.
If you’re unable to drive or fly to a new location, try escaping locally by booking a stay at the new gem of Winter Park: The Alfond Inn. You can capitalize on the Rollins discount that they offer, and your stay will help benefit future Rollins students because their profits are used to support scholarships. If you do go with this local option, try turning off your cell phones and eating at Park Avenue restaurants that you do not frequent. Both of these tips will surely assist in adding the escape mystique factor to your local vacation.
Summer relationships are characterized by their short-term lifespan. Turn this stereotype around by making your passion develop into the real deal. There is nothing more fulfilling and challenging than a long-term committed relationship, and by following this column’s advice you’ll be burrowing up with your summer lover for the winter in no time.
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The opinions articles on this website do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandspur, its staff or Rollins College.
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