Me and Him Vs. Quarantine: my relationship advice to you

For a couple months now, my boyfriend and I have been quarantining together. This has been a huge transition for us, due to the fact that he’s usually 6 hours away in Massachusetts at college.
He would still be away at school right now, if it weren’t for quarantine. But since he’s been home, we’ve been having ups and downs.
I’ve been seeing a lot of articles about celebrity couples in quarantine, and how they are staying in their luxurious beach houses or staying in their regular million-dollar homes with everything they could do outside built right in their homes.
I think that gives false expectations of what quarantine is like for a majority of America.
According to the Washington Post, 22 million people are unemployed. How many of those people do you think are in relationships? The virus has created a lot of extreme problems within society and they all are challenging the relationships of 2020.
Many recent articles are saying that quarantine will end relationships and bring out a side of each other that your relationship is not prepared for, but with us I feel like that’s not the case. I don’t know if it’s because we’re young and haven’t felt the pressures of marriage, bills, or anything like that but I do know I feel like our connection is stronger than ever. Perhaps a majority of Americans right now would not agree with me.
According to an article from Forbes magazine, only 18% of couples are satisfied with their communication during this pandemic. This study was based on married and engaged couples so other factors also came into play like purchases, planned sex, and how much time they should spend together.
I feel like a part of the reason why we are doing so well together is because nothing is planned. And I guess being young, we kind of have that luxury.
I can honestly say during this quarantine experience I’ve experienced some of the sweetest sides of him. For example, I can’t count how many times I’ve woken up to breakfast in the morning or him staying up all night with me while I write a paper that I should’ve written a while ago.
It has also brought out some of the sides any relationship never wants to see. We’ve argued, I’ve gained some pet peeves about him, and I find him more annoying than usual some days.
Although I can’t speak for the millions of Americans facing relationship trouble right now, I can speak for mine.
Here are some tips to help your relationship survive this quarantine based on what we’ve been doing:
  1. Take time to acknowledge each other throughout the day- This could be small compliments, signs of affection or even watching videos or movies together.
  2. Have designated time apart- Simple. Do your own thing while your partner does their own thing.
  3. Listen to each other- We might be on the inside and not facing the realities of outside, but eventually quarantine will come to an end, so it’s good to talk about plans for the future or anything your partner is stressing about. He’s been talking me through my stress as I approach my college graduation.
  4. Be best friends- Don’t forget why you’re in that relationship in the first place. A reason we work so well and have been working well through this quarantine is because we’re always best friends first.
Now, I don’t know how helpful this will be to people who are married or engaged or are in very serious parts of their life. But I do know that maybe taking relationship advice from a 21-year-old like me will take you back to the parts of life that were much simpler. And I think simple is what everyone needs during this time.

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