Dear Tuffy Luv,

I’m almost 21 and have never had a boyfriend! I went to an all-girls high school and never socialized with guys. My circle of friends consisted of girls and this carried on as I entered university.

It’s not that I’ve never been approached before. I just think I have never met a guy I’ve genuinely been interested in. Of course there have been the occasional crushes, but those never went beyond physical appearances. I think I have high standards and easily pin point flaws in guys that immediately turn me off from the idea of being with them (eg: they lack manners or smoke), but it’s because I’m not interested in anything casual. If I am going to commit to a relationship, I have to be convinced we can make it last. Is it too much to ask for a guy who is kind and makes me laugh? (And who accepts me and my quirks?)

I don’t think I lack confidence and I don’t think I’m hideous looking. I think my problem is I don’t know how to act and talk to guys. I can be myself, but sometimes I can be blunt and lack empathy. My friends find my deadpan humor funny, but I think others don’t get it and it turns them away. To give you a better idea, I believe I may have Asperger’s Syndrome. I haven’t been diagnosed, but when I read about it, I can relate to, 95% of the signs and symptoms! I find whenever I talk to guys and people I don’t know very well, I have a difficult time holding my end of the conversation. I either don’t know how to engage the person or don’t know the appropriateness of the topics I can share. Read More »

Being awkward is an art form honed over many weekends spent singing out-of-key karaoke and talking about people when they’re right behind you. Of course there are a variety of ways you can be awkward, and not all of them are created equal. Surely it’s worse to be the awkward girlfriend than it is to simply be the awkward girl in class, right? Not necessarily. While we’ll likely explore both of those scenarios in the future, today I’m going to teach you how to be the awkward girl at the bar. Because she’s everyone’s favorite. Duh.

It’s not easy being awkward. You need to remind yourself of this simple fact every time you see someone out and about actin’ a fool. It takes an unnatural amount of ignorance, indifference and social ineptitude to truly be the mayor of Awkwardtown Saloon. Fear not, perfectly-average CC fans! Keep reading and perhaps one day you can be as cringe-worthy as the girl in the purple fringe skirt enthusiastically grinding against the guy who simply DNGAF. Read More »

[One of the greatest aspects of college life is the morning-after recap with friends. You stumble out of bed, grab your liquid of choice, and gather around the living room to replay (and remind yourself of) the events of last night. You laugh, you cringe and you share the highest of highs...and the rock-bottom lowest of lows. We thought we'd bring the fun of the recap to CollegeCandy, so grab that coffee and take part in the deliciously awkward moments your CC friends have to share.]

I was out at a classy lounge the other night (I can legit say this now that I have entered legality), when a nice young gentleman started to make passes at me. Like any normal girl, I was wary of speaking to a stranger with a receding hairline but, thanks to a slightly humorous opener, I kept talking to him long enough to find out that he was an attorney. I practically humped his leg like an excited dog. And not because I’m a gold digger who thinks that an attorney can buy her lots of Gucci and Botox.

It’s because for the last three months I have been cooped up in my room under a hot desk lamp studying non-stop for the LSAT. And in my “drunken haze” (I had one beer, which got me tipsy…what? I’ve been studying!) it seemed that there was nothing more exciting than finding someone who had also studied for the LSAT.

Yup, that’s right – my life had been reduced to excitement over someone having filled out similar bubbles on a similar standardized test. Read More »

“I’m a nice guy” he looked at me a little helplessly, “and that doesn’t always work out in my favor.”

Smiling, I ran my hand through his hair reassuringly and tried to figure out how I was going to tell him we were over.

I broke up with Chad* (name changed to protect his pride. And mine.) because he was a Republican who only listened to talk radio and read nothing but Forbes Magazine, not because he was a self-proclaimed “nice guy”. Contrary to popular opinion, I have nothing against “nice guys”. I have nothing against polite, chivalrous, thoughtful dudes.

But you know what I do have a problem with?

Socially awkward behavior.

More often than not, a guy who insists he gets no respect because he’s just “too nice” is totally discounting the fact that he is also weird. Read More »