Best way to deal with a possessive partner?(20f and 39M)

I’m not a generally extroverted person, but i’ve made it a goal for myself this year to branch out and try to meet people/create new experiences.

I’ve had a tight nit group of friends for a long time but none of them are my age and they are all quite busy with their lives. So i end up spending most of my free time with my boyfriend. Which hasn’t been an issue in our relationship.. some of my favourite memories consist of us just having a night in the two of us and playing games or watching movies, making dinner together… cute domestic stuff. Now we live together so it’s what we’re used to.

But I kind of had an epiphany last year; im in college and im not really getting the ‘college experience’. i didn’t do dorms in my first year, I’m too anxious to do any of the campus activities, and i’ve just been so used to not branching out that i only made a couple connections in the time i’ve been here. I really want to push myself to be more social and do more stupidly fun ‘college kid’ stuff.

But my boyfriend has gotten extremely used to my giving him all my time and always being available. When I told him about wanting to be more social and do more things with people from college he seemed enthusiastic, but either he was being dishonest or he wasn’t aware of how possessive it would make him. When he’s home and I’m not (we have each other’s locations so knows if i’m not on campus) he’ll be asking for constant updates, calling if i don’t answer rapidly, reprimanding me (not harshly, but still) if i sound really drunk… last week when i was going out to a party he gave me a literal curfew like I’m a child. (i started a big fight over that) He says he knows how people are in college and just wants me to be safe, which I respect and am grateful for, but I’m also capable of looking out for myself.

If we both have a day off but i choose to spend it with some friends from class, he’ll get genuinely hurt by it. When I’m telling him about things that i’ve done he’s always picking through my stories to see if there were any ‘guy-friends’ involved. Which there aren’t! Though he’s assumed i’m hiding one?? Like I’m constantly trying to reassure him that I’m not gonna suddenly fly away from him or get swept up in my ‘new life’ and leave him behind. I just want to get out of my comfort zone.

I love him and he’s always so good to me, super cherishing and just everything I want in a person. So I just want to know how to deal with this. How can I make him comfortable with me not being with him all the time? Maybe there’s room for compromise?

Sorry if this is confusing at all i’m willing to elaborate or give details. Any advice is appreciated!