[verilath]

so my girlfriend and I have been going out for 3 years. We are both 19 years old and I am in my second year of college. She took a year off to collect some money to pay for school and has recently started her college experience. Fortunately although we go to different schools, they are only thirty minutes away and I get to see her pretty regularly.
last year was fairly tough on me to make/meet friends because I was coming home about 3-4 days a week to see her. We talk every day and are 100% serious and plan on having a long life together in the future. Which I s why I loved coming home and visiting her, and didn't feel like I was "missing out on my college experience as a freshman" because I would sacrifice anything to be with her. During this time all of her friends left for college too and I was really her only friend. She needed me and depended on me a lot. She has had a lot of family problems and financial struggle with being independent and I loved that I was the only real thing ni her life that made her happy. Although at times I wanted to meet my own friends and enjoy college, being with her was more important than anything and I would sacrifice that to strengthen our relationship and trust.

so anyway, she is now starting her first year and has made dozens of new friends. She is loving school and really for the first time in a long time I see her socializing and being happy. The only thing is I feel like she is losing interest in me. Not like she will meet some other guy or anything, because we have a very strong mature trust for our age I believe, but I feel like she is just not needing me as much. I know she doesn't actually, and although I should be happy, it really hurts a little. I want her to have her own friends and we have openly talked about how we decide it is good for us to allow ourselves a little freedom to enjoy college on our own while still maintaining regular visits with each other. But I just can't help but feeling like I am missing her much more than she is missing me. Just the little things like leaving her random text msg's to say I love you or ask what she is up to. I feel like she only responds to my calls or texts and never really wants to initiate much because she now has other people to enjoy.

I really love and respect and want her to be happy and I feel selfish for wanting her to "miss me more". But it is true. I feel like she just doesn't miss me as much, and I really don't want it to break apart the incredibly strong, loving, and almost marriage-like relationship we have been in for the past 3 years.

so I guess I just need some help with how to deal with her new friends and how to cope with allowing her some space to be happy and not feel bonded to me or appear too "clingy" of a boyfriend

[statictable]

Remember being best friends, close friends, lovers, partners or long time best buds has no association with ownership of any kind.

[Sad Soul]

Do you think there's any way you can make her miss you a bit?

[talaniman]

I think you should get your own life, with friends of your own, and try not to be so insecure. If the relationship is as strong as you say, then let her have fun, and you can have fun yourself. Having someone miss you to feed your ego is not a healthy attitude, so work on that and don't bring it to her. Your problem, not hers. Just communicate positively together.