For one night only, or forever after? Part 2

One of the main attractions of University is its alluring promise of exposure to new ideas and opportunities. Whether you want to learn to catamaran, abseil down a multi-story car park, or play the ocarina dressed as a lobster, the chances are there’ll be an outlet for you to do it. The same, I think, can be said of the more personal opportunities that University presents – in no other environment do so many young, attractive, and virile people come into such close and constant contact. So why not make the most of it?

For me, and, if Pullcam is anything to go by, so many others, University is a time to think outside the box and break out of your comfort zone in all aspects of your life. If you can apply this to your academic and social lives, then why not to your sex life as well? Surely it would be madness to pass on through the all-you-can-eat buffet of lacrosse lasses and rugby studs without having a little nibble?

I have no shame in admitting that upon my arrival at Exeter, I approached the delectable smorgasbord with relish. Aware that, at the age of eighteen, I wasn’t ready for a relationship, it seemed foolish to dive headlong into a long-term commitment with the first person to want me, simply because they’d asked first. Who was to say that something better wasn’t out there? And how would I know unless I gave it a shot?

This is not to say that I spent my first year at Exeter engaged in a non-stop shagfest (if only). What I am saying is that my refusal to change my Facebook status to ‘In a relationship with some bland needy moron’ allowed me to experiment – to find out what I enjoyed, both sexually and conversationally. Those who enter into a relationship the moment they set foot inside the Lemmy are denied this privilege.

Of course, being single has its downsides. No one wants to find themselves sobbing into a Domino’s at 3a.m. after yet another unfruitful shark attack at Cheesy Tuesday, and the constant questioning from friends and family is enough to drive even the most hardened commitmentphobe to despair. But the benefits of singlehood cannot be denied: more freedom, more time with your friends, and, most importantly of all, more money (since when is it the norm to spend upwards of £200 on a partner for their birthday?).

While I like to think that there is someone out there for all of us (indeed, I think I may have now found mine), what I also consider very important is that we acknowledge that finding this person may take some time. In the meantime, what’s wrong with the occasional cheeky snog on the Timepiece dancefloor, or some casual softcore bondage in the Forum? If it delays the pitiable inevitability of the segregation and mundanity that monogamy brings, then so be it. And when the time finally arrives for you to settle down, you’ll appreciate what you have all the more. Either that, or you’ll miss it more than anything else. The jury may be out on that one for quite some time…