As the United States nears its one year anniversary with the COVID-19 pandemic, many Pitt students have encountered a wide array of relationship experiences, from being long distance, quarantining together, breaking up or “dating around.”

Unlike those trying to find love during the pandemic, my sort-of relationship met an untimely sort-of end in the wake of school closures and shelter-in-place orders. 

Do not feel bad about the number of people who walk out of your life — it is not a reflection of your personality, it’s just destiny. I want to discuss some of the things that constitute a healthy relationship — whether it’s between a romantic partner or between friends.

It took me until my sophomore year to finally give up my need to be in a relationship. In the past, I constantly felt an urgency to date or be in committed relationships rather than casual ones. When...