Meeting with couples to interview, as a single person is sometimes sickeningly cute. Alyssa Garcia, a junior and majoring in environmental science, and her boyfriend Reid Naughtin, who works full-time, were no exception to the rule. Off the bat, this couple was incredibly adorable. Garcia is stylishly put together in a maroon dress and accessories, while Naughtin looks comfortable in jeans and a plaid shirt. They have been together for 15 months and have mutual friends. They started talking through direct messaging on Twitter.
The couple had started dating two summers ago, down at home in Edmonds. Naughtin originally moved up here the February of the following year to live with Garcia, but after this last school year, he moved out of her place. Garcia said it helped them grow and obtain a new balance as a couple.
“We would still go out and make that time for each other but because we’d see each other so much in passing, it was less intimate and not undivided,” Naughtin said. For Garcia and Naughtin moving out had sparked a second honeymoon phase, only this time around Garcia says they’re more mature. Now the couple says they see each other around three to four times a week.
Compared to my last blog with two students at Western, this is new territory. While Naughtin works full-time and Garcia is a student, they each give different advice.
Naughtin spoke of advice for non-students who are dating students. “Don’t be a distraction because homework will definitely bite you in the butt if you [significant other in school] puts it off,” Naughtin said.
While putting your homework and school should be the number one priority, in a relationship there should be a healthy balance. “Make sure your priorities are straight, obviously school but also if someone is important to you, they should also be on the priority list,” Garcia said. They both consider themselves to be independent people and definitely stressed how important doing your own thing is.
Side note: I know a lot of couples who are attached at the hip. As a single friend to several couples, I implore you, stop making me third wheel.
While Naughtin and Garcia started talking through Twitter, a serious modern day romance, they gave advice for singles trying to get out in the dating world. “You have to be comfortable with yourself and where you are in life. Once you realize that, it’s a lot easier to put yourself out there,” Naughtin said. Garcia immediately chimed in and the conversation went to a whole new level of deep. She said you need to love yourself in order to love someone else. “We’re in such a vulnerable stage of our lives,” Garcia said.
Even though it might sound cliché it definitely holds truth. You might be actively searching for a relationship, or it could just fall into your lap, but in order to maintain a relationship, confidence and self-love is key. What’s some other advice for single people trying to get out there?
