Ew.

I think I may have a serious problem, and I don’t think I am the only woman to have it.

No, I’m not pregnant. No, I don’t have any sort of STI.

I am just romantically challenged.

I literally repel romance. For some reason, if a guy comes around with flowers, or gushy text messages with emo lyrics, or, heaven forbid, shares his feelings, I don’t know how to react. I’m either shocked, freaked out, or just plain confused.

One of my ex’s is a guitar player and I loved going to his shows around town. All was good and fine when I was just a common spectator enjoying his music. But when he wrote a song for me and played it for me, I thought I was in a bad-romance-novel-turned-even-worse-movie that would never end. I didn’t know where to look or put my hands. Should I smile? Do I fake a tear? Do I saw awww while he continues to strum away on the guitar and spew out lyrics about love? I had my own personal Jack Johnson and was turned off by him.

But why? Shouldn’t I be happy, joyous, or even giddy? Doesn’t every girl want a boy to bring her flowers for no reason and tell her how he feels?

Well, the idea of it sounds wonderful to me, but in reality it kinda makes me queasy. I mean, why do we have to hold hands all the damn time? Read More »

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being loved. Not even fresh, hot chocolate chip cookies (with a little extra raw dough on the side) gives you the same warm, comforting feeling of knowing that someone out there really, really loves you.

And that someone can be anyone: a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a best friend, your dog. It just feels good to be loved.

I remember the first time my dad told me he loved me. We aren’t really one of those “I love you” families that shares feelings (unless making really sarcastic jokes at one another’s expense counts), so it wasn’t until I was off at college that I heard my dad say those words. At first I panicked, called my mom and asked if he was dying (true story). But when she told he was fine (“I’d tell you if he was dying, dear.”) and that he’d just been talking lately about how proud he was of me and how much he loved me, it just felt…good. Like I was warming up from the inside.

It bothers me that the focus of Valentine’s Day rests so heavily on “romantic love,” because there is just so much love out there that should be cherished. Whether or not you have someone to get naked with exchange chocolates with on Sunday, we all have a lot of love in our lives. And we can’t forget it. This week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to share one moment when they really felt loved. If these don’t melt your heart (like the gooey chocolate on a fresh-baked cookie), I don’t know what will. Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like gay marriage!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

OK I know what you’re thinking, ”ugh, another Valentine’s post.” You’re probably as sick of hearing about this lovey-dovey holiday as I am (seriously, they put up the Cupid decorations on New Year’s Day!) but I think it’s about time we really had it out on this one.

Valentine’s Day – do or don’t?

On the one hand, I know a lot of people (single and not) who would just as soon abolish the holiday. If you’re single, V-Day can be a real downer – all those movies and shows about love, everyone who’s not single walking around and cooing about how great their significant other is (or complaining that they weren’t romantic enough), plus, if you want any of the chocolate that’s freaking everywhere, you have to go and buy it for yourself which can be a definite blow to the ego. Read More »

Valentine’s Day sure does have a way of sneaking up on me and my singleness every year. And I’m not sure how it happens, seeing as the heart-shaped candy has been out since December. But while I may be forced to cuddle up with my pup come Sunday, it turns out that most people – single or taken – would actually prefer it!

Makes sense; why spend oodles of money on a fancy dinner and a gift your boy-toy won’t even use when you can get the unconditional love of a pooch? Or, one of these wonderful Valentine’s Day companions: Read More »

As a foodie and aspiring chef, I pay a lot of attention to food. And in my life I’ve found that there are three kinds of cooks in the world:

1. Those who turn anything edible into sheer brilliance just from their touch.

2. Those who can follow directions pretty well and make things that taste OK.

3. Those who are absolutely hopeless and are seriously challenged by even our “Intro to Cooking” series.

It’s you guys in the last category that I’m targeting with this post. That’s right! If you want to pull out some culinary skills for your sweetheart and totally wow him/her on V-Day but can’t seem to even make a box of mac and cheese without burning down the house, you can still make this fondue recipe. Really – it’s that easy. Plus, it’s chocolate. You can’t go wrong.

This recipe will make enough fondue for two people, with some left over (to do whatever you want with….) Read More »

I have to be honest: I’ve always hated Valentine’s day. Mainly because for a good 90% of my life, the only thing I got on Valentine’s Day was a teddy bear and chocolates from my mom. While she meant well, it wasn’t exactly a self esteem booster in high school when all the other girls were getting roses in homeroom from their sweethearts.

Then of course, along came Matt and he swept me off my feet. Our first year together was the first Valentine’s Day that I had a boyfriend and I was curious as to what was going to happen. I still hated the holiday; why is it that we assign a single particular day to show our significant others that we love them? Shouldn’t that be an everyday thing? And am I the only one who thinks the alternative motive of this holiday is to shame single people into chocolate induced comas?

Anyways, Matt hates crowds and I wasn’t exactly jumping at the bit to be a stereotypical couple, so we spent our first Valentine’s Day in my dorm room with movies and snacks. It’s what we love to do, so why not do it on February 14th? I handmade Matt a card and then he completely upstaged me by giving me an expensive bracelet. It was beautiful (what girl wouldn’t want that?!), but it wasn’t the best part of the day. The important thing was that we were together and spending quality time together. Read More »

Tomorrow’s a big day. The big day. The day that I’ve been dreaming about for months.

Yes ladies, tomorrow marks the release of Dear John and I. just. can’t. wait.

Call me cheesy. Call me girly. Call me pathetic. Just don’t call me between the hours of 9pm and 11pm when I’m soaking up the chick-flick of the decade with my girls and an overpriced, oversized package of Twizzlers.

And don’t tell me you’re not excited about this one, too. Dear John has all the elements of the perfect movie and here are 5 reasons why I’m already holding tickets to the opening night premiere.

1. I love a good cry. Dear John is adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel by the same name.  Sparks also happens to be the tear-jerking genius who wrote The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, both of which left me heaving into my Diet Coke in the movie theater. As sadistic as it sounds, sometimes I just need me a good cry and after having watched the trailer, um, a lot, I’m positive this movie will give me one.

2. Channing Tatum. As if I even need to mention this. I have admired his chiseled jaw, gorgeous lips, and Adonis-like abs since Step Up came out in 2006. Even after I finally gave up trying to teach myself all the dances in the movie, my love for Channing stuck with me. He was my profile picture on Facebook for awhile. I mentioned him in my final article for my school newspaper. I planned my life as Mrs. Zahra Tatum…

Where was I? Read More »

V-Day season is upon us again, and even though I’m in a relationship this year, I still feel like I want to punch people whenever I see little red hearts dotting store windows. I’m not a big proponent of the “show your love for someone by throwing money at him” school of thought. I am, however, all for gifts that are thoughtful, useful, and CHEAP.

Hearing me out? Read on.

- If you want to go traditional, mix up the monotony. Candy and flowers are nice and don’t break the bank, but apparently they are not great for the planet, so why not choose something a bit different this year? A box of fair-trade, organic chocolates won’t run you more than 20 bucks, and they’re made with more care and better-quality ingredients than that Russell Stover collection.

- Does your boo like to spin the tunes? Make him a mix CD. I know, I know—that’s so sixth grade—but really, it’s a very thoughtful gift that can’t come from anyone except you. Go through your playlist and mountains of CDs to pick out songs that remind you of that special someone, burn ‘em off, and make a pretty liner and cover for the CD. Done! Read More »

Because I spent kindergarten through 8^th grade at a single-sex school, I didn’t have too many interactions with guys until I was about 14. That means that for much of my life, most of the stuff I “knew” about people with Y-chromosomes came from poring over the pages of mags like Seventeen and Glamour.

Maybe that’s why for nearly a decade and a half, I was under the impression that boys were an entirely different species that thought and acted in ways totally opposite from those of women. I had no idea how to talk to dudes because I figured that I could have absolutely nothing in common with any of them. They were from Mars, and I was from Venus; they got mini-Hotmobiles in their Happy Meals while I had to make due with miniature Barbie dolls. As far as I knew, that was just the way the world worked.

Since then, of course, I’ve learned that guys and girls really aren’t that dissimilar. Sure, maybe they’re more likely to enjoy movies that feature explosions and we’re more likely to watch anything starring Meryl Streep, but real people prove that even such widely agreed-upon stereotypes have plenty of exceptions—especially since those old clichés also assume that all men and women are hetero.

But even though dudes and chicks can’t actually be separated into two conflicting groups, magazines still insist on bifurcating men and women into opposing sides. Hell, the entire women’s magazine industry is predicated on the assumption that all men behave the same way—and that women can only understand men if they read publications that promise to decode their mystifying manners. Read More »

Sometimes I think we should just rename winter the season of love. When the cold weather comes in, it seems like couples just come out of the woodwork….or snowbanks. Suddenly they are holding hands in every store, making out on the sidewalks, and sharing kisses between sips of coffee at Starbucks.

Yes, it’s a little nauseating, but come on; everyone’s looking for a little love come holiday time.

But what makes a good love? A rugged jaw, some tight abs and some sparkling baby blues wouldn’t hurt, but when you get down to it, those are only an added bonus. The shiny gold bangle to your already perfect LBD. The truth is, there are way more important things every guy’s gotta have if he wants the honor of calling us his GF. And no, Pauly D, having a 25-minute daily hair regimen is not one of them.

So here are the 5 things we’re looking for when it comes to finding a boyf.

Makeout Skills:
Let’s be honest – no matter how much you love someone, no boyfriend can reach perfect status if there isn’t any chemistry, and chemistry simply can’t exist if the guy is sucking your nose off. Or licking your gums. Or drooling on your chin. A good boyfriend must have kissing mastered. And that means a variety, people. Sometimes we’re totally into a slow, romantic kiss, while other times we want to go at it like were in junior high and our parents could walk in any minute. Read More »