Well boys and girls, we’ve come to the fourth and final installment of “What the hell did I get myself into?”: Online Dating Edition. It’s been a whirlwind of a month, and I am sad to say (spoiler alert) that I did not find a boyfriend. Cue the tears, cue Adele, and cue me shoveling Ben and Jerry’s down my throat. I’m okay though really. No tears for this girl. I might sound a little cocky when I say this, but the reason I didn’t find a boyfriend wasn’t because I couldn’t get a guy to look in my general direction. I got several messages from men throughout the day, everyday for four weeks. I had many guys interested in “me”, and I put “me” in quotation marks because I’m not sure how many of the guys really wanted to get to know me or just have sex with me (and I guess I’ll never know!). The reason why I didn’t come out of this challenge with the desired end result is because I realized that I don’t want a boyfriend.

I repeat: I do not want a boyfriend.

I am not saying that I don’t have those moments when all I want to do is cuddle up with someone cute and have him play with my hair while I drift off to sleep. I have a deep desire to eventually find “The One” and have a marriage and a family. I will never let go of that dream. I will always have that dream. I think what I am saying is that I do not have a desire to pursue that dream right now.

I came across several men that were sweet and sexy, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I was really into Mitch for a few weeks, but I soon realized that there was no chemistry there (I know, that sounds like a cop out, but it’s true!), and he also looked way too much like my ex-boyfriend. I thought I could get over it, but I cannot. After our second date, he leaned in for a kiss. I accepted. When I opened my eyes, I saw my ex. I did not see Mitch. My sight was blurry. Once I re-focused, I knew it wasn’t going to work. Not only because Mitch was a clone of my ex but because I wasn’t putting my whole heart into it. I wasn’t fully there. I did not want a boyfriend.

Though I didn’t get my “happy ending”, being a member of OK Cupid did open my eyes to a lot of things that I had never really thought of before. One huge revelation was that there are so many men out there. And yes, there are going to be some creepers and guys you’re not attracted to, but let me tell you, there are a lot of guys on OK Cupid (and other dating sites, I’m sure!) that have attractive, sweet, educated men that are looking for the same thing that women are. You might wonder, “Why is he trying online dating? What is wrong with him?” The answer is nothing! You’re completely normal (minus the standard level of crazy that each and every girl possesses, let’s be real) and you’re searching through dating profiles on OK Cupid too! Therefore nothing wrong with him. There is nothing wrong with you.

Some people just need a little help.

I hope you guys enjoyed my small stint in the online dating world and learned a thing or two in the process.  I definitely wouldn’t steer people away from online dating after doing this one-month challenge because my mind has truly been changed about the whole process and stupid stigma that comes with dating on the internet. It’s not as scary as you think. It’s not pathetic. It’s not desperate. It’s just another way to meet a person that you might build a relationship with and maybe fall in love. Now what doesn’t sound good about that?

As most of you know, I’m kind of a pro when it comes to dating (online, offline, coffee shop…you name it, I’ve been there and most likely done it). I’m also a professional at making mistakes. For the record, you shouldn’t email with his sister behind his back after the first date – even if she’s nice, still kind of creepy.

After re-watching ‘How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days,’ and ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’ (for about the 100th time), I think I can finally say I’ve come up with the five most common mistakes we all make when first starting to date someone new. Hint: don’t start planning your wedding after date number two, no matter how cute the new Vera Wang line is.

initiating the gallery...

No mater what you read, and constantly tell yourself, you will still make common mistakes when dating someone new. It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of a new relationship, and all we can do is make each other more aware and hope to learn from our mistakes.

Do you remember sitting in your backyard as a kid making those little string bracelets for all your BFFs? By the 4th of July, my wrists would be a tangle of bright colored braids from swapping these sweet little tokens of friendship. Well, I vote that we bring back the trend and make all our favorite buds some friendship bracelets to show our love. While perusing Pinterest (story of my life) I came across this cute craft idea.

Turn some simple string into something meaningful…for practically no money.

What you’ll need:

• Colored string
• Card stock
• A pen
• Scissors
• A hole puncher

How you jazz up the standard friendship bracelet:

Now, I’ve never been a person who could get a handle on all those intricate chevron bracelet patterns. Mine were always simply, straightforward braids. If you have the skills to go all out, by all means do so. If you’re like me, your humble braids will still look awesome. Grab your card stock, cut it into a cute shape, then write a personal note. Take your hole punchers and make two punches — one on either side of the card. Weave your bracelet through the holes, and voila! A thoughtful throwback to nights of catching fireflies and licking melting ice cream cones everyone will love.

[Thanks to Dandee for the idea!]

Sex. We love it. We want it. All the time. Is that asking too much? In bed, on the floor, on the couch, in the shower, over the counter. You name the noun, I’ll give the appropriate preposition. I’m a fan of risky quickies. There’s something about that ‘get caught at any moment’ edge that really turns me on. But what kind of sex is the absolute best sex? America voted, and I think America got it right. Get the results here and tell us what your favorite type of sex is in the comments below!

In other news:

Going out of town this weekend? Here are 3 outfits that are perfect for vacation

Britney Spears has ‘X Factor’ over the barrel!

Kris Allen looks adorable with his neck pillow around his neck at the airport!

Kim Zolciak shows off her love for hubby Kroy Biermann with body paint?

‘The Bachelor’ host dishes on his favorite romances

In honor of the ‘Star Wars’ anniversary, here are all the posters from the every episode!

Joe Jonas proves he is un-punkable on ‘Punk’d’

Are you more attracted to men in uniform? It’s fleet week in NYC

Don’t screw up the first date before it even happens! Avoid these 5 things

[lead image via Jason Stitt / Shutterstock]

Hello and welcome back ladies! I hope you enjoyed our pick this month, the book blowing up all over the world, “Fifty Shades of Grey” by EL James. It’s being touted as “mommy porn” and has made it okay to read a sexy, yet cheesy, romance novel during your morning commute. Check out my thoughts below, but be warned, there are some spoilers!

Fifty Shades is your typical girl-meets-boy story where the girl is totally and completely smitten with the boy. Anastasia Steele is a meek, soon-to-be college grad who is forced into interviewing super-rich, playboy CEO Christian Grey. Anastasia stumbles into his office and through a series of events, ends up entering into a relationship with him. Pretty normal right? Well this is where it gets…different. Christian Grey is a dominant, meaning that he doesn’t snag himself a girlfriend – he gets a submissive. Anastasia is a virgin when they meet and she is obviously cautious of this potential relationship with Christian, but she feels so drawn to him that she can’t just cut ties.

The book is chock-full of erotic scenes, including some that border on the dominant-submissive lifestyle, which have turned it into a scandalous read. After some trials and tribulations, including the woman who taught Christian Grey everything he knows about BDSM and Christian’s sad childhood Ana decides that she can’t handle Christian’s lifestyle and leaves him near the end of book 1 of the trilogy.

Any of this sound similar to Twilight? Maybe not the sexy stuff, but the underlying storyline of girl-enthralled-by-boy? That’s because the book found its beginnings as Twilight fanfiction. I have to be honest, that tainted my opinion of the book a little bit, as I find Bella Swan to be one of the most annoying characters in all of literature (if you can call it that). This was also a problem I had with “Fifty Shades”; Ana isn’t really a strong character and bends a lot to other people, Grey included. She seems so weak and not at all the strong, independent woman I like to see in fiction. I also found the sex scenes to be a little gratuitous. That’s not to say that I had a problem reading that stuff at all, but it got a bit boring. Honestly, it got to the point where it was like “Oh, just another sex scene” and I skimmed through it until I reached more of the story. I believe James realized that the sexiness of the book would be her hook and packed as much of it into the novel as possible. Some of it seemed natural, but those two get it on an awful lot!

Overall, I found “Fifty Shades of Grey” by EL James totally entertaining and a good book for lounging by the pool. Sure, it’s not a great work of fiction, nor a classic, but it will keep you occupied on a commute or long plane ride. If you’re skittish about sex, then you probably won’t enjoy the book, as about 1/3 of it involves Ana and Christian doing the nasty or talking about his BDSM tendencies.

Did you read “Fifty Shades of Grey” with us? We want to hear your thoughts! And, don’t forget to recommend us a book for June.

It’s way too easy to get into a make-up rut. You’re running late. You don’t feel like wasting your money on something you’re unsure of. You’re comfortable. There are a million and seventeen reasons not to change a look you’ve perfected. But everyone needs to shake up their make-up bag every once in a  while!

One sure fire way to change your look without jumping off of a make-up cliff is by going with a classic look. It’s worked for thousands of other women, so you’ll look fabulous too. No nerves necessary. Right now, the retro glam look isn’t so retro anymore. It’s everywhere in 2012. Who doesn’t want to be described as “glamourous,”  because I know I do! Our friends at College Fashion give you the easiest tutorial ever to get the look, including what products to buy. If it were any simpler, they would have to come to your house/dorm/apartment and do it for you!

Ariana Romero is a student at Syracuse University. That would probably explain why she once had a load of laundry filled solely with orange tee shirts. She watches too much television and reads too much entertainment news than is probably healthy. Follow her on Twitter @ArianaRomero17.

[Lead image via Subbotina Anna/Shutterstock]

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, which means we can ignore what the calendar says and officially declare that summer has arrived! While you’re lounging in the sun, mixing cocktails and flipping burgers, keep in mind that summer music festival season is also upon us. If you felt left out when your friends talked about road tripping off to Coachella or NYC’s first Electric Daisy Carnival, now’s your chance to get back in the loop and reclaim a little music cred.

Electric Zoo is taking over Labor Day weekend in New York City for the fourth year, so you have enough time to grab some tickets (which are on sale now!) and round up your best buds for the ultimate music experience. The City’s premiere EDM festival won’t be one to miss, especially since the lineup was recently released. David Guetta? Tiesto? A-Trak? Sign me up!

Take a look at all the other names that will be playing from August 31st through September 2nd on Randall’s Island. Plus, more names are going to be added as the summer goes on.

Ever since I saw the Anchor’s Away episode on ‘Sex And The City,’ I’ve wanted to experience Fleet Week in New York City. Samantha Jones has an uncanny way of making everything sexed-up and glamorous. She didn’t have to work too hard to convince me to fantasize about a man in uniform. Especially those white Navy uniforms. Let’s just pause for a moment to appreciate those.

So how do you make that fantasy a reality? How do you actually snag yourself a Navy Seal for the week? Beyond having a vagina, I’m not sure it’s much work. However, CollegeCandy has put together a little guide in case you’re not convinced.

initiating the gallery...

Get out there and have some fun, girls! And tell us your stories in the comments below!

Last week, I realized that I’ve basically (and pathetically) dabbled in online dating since I had access to a laptop. You guys remember Tagged? In middle school, I talked to a high school football player for precisely one week. I was so proud of myself – I even printed out his picture to show to my friends! Eventually, he stopped answering my calls and sent a culminating email calling the whole thing off. At least they learn early, right?

In the ninth grade, I had a Myspace fauxlationship with another guy. We exchanged messages for a good two months…can you believe that I actually considered him my boyfriend?! I was number two on his Top 8…a very big deal, indeed. And now as a college junior, every single date I’ve been on – all two of them – were provided by the net.

I really should close my damn laptop and give this stuff a rest, but I have two good reasons that stop me from shutting down. Dating online is so much easier for me because I’m chronically shy. I’d probably drink unfiltered Hudson River water before approaching a guy in class or at the bar. I’m just way too afraid of rejection. In online dating I’ve learned that there’s still plenty of rejection, but it’s much easier to face in pixels than in person.

My other reason is the fact that online dating has a lot of shiny success stories that give me a glimmer of hope. My friend’s sister Shana met her fiancé on OkCupid. Last year, the sisters visited Europe for a summer trip and Shana started chatting with her man before they set sail. My friend said they met up and grew inseparable through Skype and occasional visits. A few weeks ago, an Instagram flick popped up on my feed – her hand had a glistening engagement ring attached! She did it…she found love on the wild, wild web.

Whenever I get discouraged by my lack of messages or views, I often think of Shana and all of the other happy couples that met on the net. Every time I meet a creep who wants to send me peen pics or get ignored by those cute and artsy NYU hunks, I know that somewhere in the world my fiancé awaits on his MacBook Pro. But maybe one day I’ll muster up enough courage to step away from my laptop and find him in real time.

CollegeCandy, what’s your stance on online dating?

When she’s not watching for Blue Ivy sightings or doing some serious Facebook creeping, Khalea moonlights as a print journalism major at the REAL HU, Howard University. Follow her on Twitter at @letsbeKHAlear, or feel free to Twatch. Whatever works for you.

[Lead image via Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock]