The Orion Online

Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: Features

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Click here to read Dionna Mash's counter point
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Two young people meet. They share some great times. But for many students, leaving for college means the hourglass of love eventually comes to an end.

However, when heading back home for Thanksgiving, students might be craving more than an extra plate of turkey dinner. Sexual feelings for an old lust may rush back when students are tempted by familiar faces and old tricks.

But watch out.

The hometown hookup is nothing new, and while many of us are guilty of calling up our high school sweethearts, hooking up with past crushes is a bad idea.

While I prefer to call it a hometown hookup, my mother informed me that it is also called a "blast from the past." I guess you don't need to be a college student to know something about hookups with an ex. Go figure.

While my mom seems to think the hometown hookup can be beneficial - if you're looking for one thing - I disagree.

I have a good buddy from back home who used to hook up with his ex every time they were both back from school. While he was able to benefit from their reunions, it left his ex emotionally distraught.

Both of them were getting what they wanted physically, but she was confused and could never move on until the hometown hookups ended for good.

Having a blast from the past can give false hope. Even if one person is completely content with carefree sex or just messing around, someone always thinks, "Could this be more?"

I won't lie, on occasion carefree sexual intimacy is nice. But in most cases, when students go back home they are connecting with people they rarely get to see. These people may have meant a lot to them in high school, but the distance is often the reason why students part ways.

My roommate said a big reason why he didn't start his relationship back up with his ex last Thanksgiving was because their colleges were so far apart, and maintaining a relationship just wasn't feasible.

Also, hooking up was just not worth it for him because there was no future and he didn't want to risk his feelings being hurt.

For me, it took about a year to get over my high school love. During that time, I was tempted to make her my hometown hookup. Yet, if I had done anything physical with her during that time, any feelings I managed to put behind me would have been reignited.

So if you have someone in mind whom you miss and would call a hometown hookup, be aware that you are more than likely just missing the moments of intimacy, not the person. So it would be best to avoid tempting old feelings.

And if you don't believe me, maybe you should try asking your mother.

Chris Thompson can be reached
cthompson@theorion.com

Related links

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