Dear Sugar,
I’ve been in a relationship for about a year. I met my boyfriend while I was doing an internship at the company he is currently working for. He has been great to me so far—he’s patient, loving, and sweet, however I am feeling rather insecure and bugged about his education. I have a higher education level than he does, thus I am earning more than him. My mom has not been taking this piece of news very well as she feels I deserve more. It’s gotten to the point where I try not to include him in my social group other than my close friends because they are all college graduates and he’s not.
He’s been taking classes again, but it will take approximately three years to complete his study. Three years to me is a significant amount of time. Both of us have talked about our future goal of getting married, but I don’t want to waste his time or mine, so do you think I should stand by him and wait for him to graduate college, or should I just move on?—Smart Alec Alex
Dear Smart Alec Alex,
It sounds like your boyfriend is a really good guy who treats you well, so something tells me there’s something more than his lack of education that’s bothering you. If this is more about money, you might want to consider Steve Jobs or Kanye West before assuming that just because he didn’t graduate college, he won’t be successful. It sounds like he’s going back to school to appease you, so if you’re not sure if he’s worth waiting for, I’d absolutely let him go so you can both move on.
Being embarrassed by your significant other is a huge red flag. You say that you’ve talked about getting married, but when you’re with someone that you love enough marry, I would hope that you’d accept him for who he is, college educated or not. Trust your gut on this one, Alex, because I’m hearing that you’re settling and that’s no way to have a relationship. Good luck to you.
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