5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Date Someone In Your Major

By

As a second semester sophomore in college, I’ve realized that I spent a lot of my freshman year doing one of two things: searching for my calling, or in other words, the major I would be studying the next four years, and dating. For someone like me, who fancies a variety of things from writing, beauty, marketing, art, business, social media, etc… there’s no possible way to limit my interests to just one field of study, when there are literally hundreds of majors and minors offered at any given university. On the other hand, I’ve also spent a lot of time meeting people and dating them, and one thing I’ve experienced from that is if the person you’re pursuing doesn’t teach you anything, whether it be a valuable life lesson or an actual piece of useful information, it is a waste of time. That being said, when you do decide what you want to study for the rest of your life, and you decide you’re ready for a relationship, I think it’s important to branch out and date someone with a different major, and here’s why:

1. They Will Always Teach You Something

In any relationship, it’s important for people to be able to grow and learn together. When you’re dating someone with a different major, though, you’re open to an entire world that you may never been interested in, or even heard of, for that matter. I mean, I’m a Communications major dating a Petroleum Engineering major – two completely different fields, and let me just say, nothing is more beautiful than seeing someone speak about something they’re passionate about. By that, I mean, you can ask them a question and they will answer it with more than enough information, their eyes and smile both wide. You can literally see how excited they are that you’re taking interest in what they love. I’ve learned so much about oils rigs and lubrication points than I ever thought I would, and it’s very satisfying to say that if anything, I’ve gained knowledge from this Petro-major relationship.

2. You Have Completely Different Classes and Peers

Depending on the type of person you are, you may or may not like to have your own life outside of your relationship. It goes without saying that you should enjoy spending time with your significant other, but if you have the same major, chances are you’re spending too much time with them already, from the dinner dates, the bedroom, Sunday morning cuddle sessions… and now the classroom? I mean, sure, sharing every moment together by walking to class, studying for the same test, and doing your homework can be nice… if you have separation anxiety. No matter how much I loved my significant other, if I had to see their face that often, I honestly might consider switching my major to get away from them (and let’s not forget how long it took me to choose my major in the first place!!). For any normal person, spending that much time with your S.O. can make you feel suffocated; having different schedules and classes is a breath of fresh air, and a break from all the downtime you spend with your boo.

3. There’s Always Something to Talk About

With two people in different areas of study, the possibilities for conversations are endless, and never boring. This holds true in the simplest form when asking how your partner’s day was. Since you’ve managed to have a life outside of them, you’re now able to share that life with them through conversation. Incidentally this correlates back to #1, where you can always teach and tell your S.O. something new, and vice versa. Whether it’s about the lunch date you just had with a potential employer for that PR firm, or about the newest trends in social media, your bf will be happy to hear about everything going on in your world, even the parts that don’t include him.

4. They Support and Don’t Compete

I’ve witnessed a few people date within their major and it turns sour for many reasons. Like I mentioned in #2, yeah it might be nice to have the same classes and assignments as your person, and a designated study buddy to do your homework when you forget, but when it comes down to it, humans are naturally competitive. Imagine studying with your partner. The same subject, putting in the same effort and same amount of time, then going in and taking the test, only to score lower than them. That is probably one of the worst feelings I could think of. Some might see it as a form of motivation to do better next time, but I see it as “Wow, you’re actually just smarter than me. I suck.” It would be exhausting, and it might not even be intentional, but that still puts a damper on your confidence. Heck, that would make me reevaluate my whole life. It’s better to date someone that can boost your confidence, by supporting you in what you’re naturally good at, than to feel like you’re competing against them for something like a higher grade.

5. Breaking Up

This is probably the best reason as to why you should date outside of your major. You have a different major, you’re in a different college at your university, taking completely unrelated courses. If you break up, the chances of running into them on campus with 50,000+ students, is slim to none. Of course, with my luck, I would run into them anyway. Go figure. Still, this is a good way to increase your chances of never seeing your ex again.

For more raw, powerful writing follow Heart Catalog here.