Why is the Fall Semester Breakup Season for Freshmen?

Paula Borlando says fall is the semester of heartbreak.

Transitioning to college is tough. When you have a significant other, it can be even tougher. Sometimes it feels like your heart is miles away, and you’re distracted from your new friends. Differing schedules are difficult to navigate. Before you know it, Thanksgiving breaks rolls around and suddenly relationships are dropping like flies. But not to worry, this is completely normal.

Paula, a senior at Saint Joseph’s University, speaks about her own experience of “the breakup season.”

“High school couples often don’t realize that distance and new social circles can endanger a relationship until they actually get to college,” she said. “

For many people who have entered college in a relationship, including me, it can be their first serious relationship. The feelings experienced during that time are new and feel unique, so they think nothing can break that. It doesn’t take much time to realize it’s very difficult to make long distance work, which is why fall is prime breakup season.”

Yes, this can make it seem like college is full of heartbreak, but it doesn’t have to be! Some use this new stage of life to grow and change. Many take chances that their high school selves wouldn’t have.

Senior, Eric Alston, thinks breakup season can be a good thing. He says, “You have eighteen-year-olds experiencing their first time living on their own and it’s just such a new time of freedom and discovering yourself and transitioning into a completely different stage in your life. I’m sure there are relationships that do survive past this period but it’s completely normal that many will not. I do feel that there are things that have to be sacrificed in order to be fully involved in this new experience and unfortunately sometimes that may have to be letting go of a relationship.”

If you are going through a breakup, just know that you’re not alone. Many people learn to love their newfound freedom. That said, many couples survive the breakup season and no experience is universal. Best of luck to all you lovebirds out there.