by Rae Saeed

Created on: November 16, 2009   Last Updated: November 18, 2009

College students who suffer through relationship drama now have a source to turn to. In an interview with relationship expert Nancy Pina provides a lot of insight for students to deal with issues in typical dating drama. Pina is also the author of her critically acclaimed book , The Ultimate College Relationship Guide: How to Distinguish Between Love and Drama, which includes her best bits of advice to anyone who needs it .

Some student relationships tend to attract drama because they are mirroring what is familiar to them, Pina said. If one grows up in an environment in which there is emotional highs and lows, the tendency will be to unconsciously look for that same type of experience in love.

Of course, it can be a bit challenging at times, to maintain a relationship while attending post-secondary education. Depending on your workload, there are times when students are really tempted to blow off assignments to spend time with their significant others. Pina's advice would be to use this opportunity to strengthen your will power, and use as a test to see how well you balance love and school work.

It takes discipline not to obsess over a relationship and maintain balance in life. This is definitely a good test of learning how to draw emotionally healthy boundaries in relationships, said Pina

Pina coaches students to understand that: One needs to learn how to communicate love in a clear manner and also manage their time wisely to pursue educational goals.

Pina said that if students can accomplish this. It means that they have the strength of character not to give into manipulation from the other person. So if students can juggle between date nights and school nights, they should be good to go. It sounds easy doesn't it? Well it isn't, said Pina. The same tools will be necessary after college as many people tend to get wrapped up in their career pursuits only to find that they did not give ample time to establish a strong relationship with someone to share that success with later on, Pina adds.

So think about it, is it really a good idea to date your classmates?
There have been a few people who luckily end up marrying their college sweethearts. However, that doesn't always work out for everyone. Be careful in the long run. I haven't read this book myself but after talking to Nancy, it has helped me quite a bit. Good luck ladies, and God bless.

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