All of my friends are getting married. At least, that’s how it feels. In the past six months, two of my closest friends at Washington University have become engaged, along with three high school friends and innumerable family friends. And it may make me sound heartless, but my initial response was, “No.”

I’ve overheard countless Whispers conversations bemoaning the unattractiveness of the female population, and many sighs over the scrawny paleness of the guys that line the side tables of the DUC. I know girls who prefer online dating to being confined to the on-campus dating pool, and have heard several boys say that they have a ‘No Wash. U. Girls’ policy.

We’re all starting to care much more about what we’re posting online. In college, when dating can almost always be summed up by “It’s Complicated,” what exactly is Facebook dating etiquette?

The other night, one of my roommates was leaving to spend the night at her boyfriend’s. After she waved goodbye to all of us, she turned to him and said in a completely serious voice, “Remind me to shower tomorrow.”

“I didn’t sleep. Again.”
I can’t count how many times my friend Louise would come to my room last year and say this as she collapsed on the floor, dark circles under her eyes. It wasn’t insomnia and it wasn’t all her homework that kept her up at all hours; it was the girl who lived next door.

Relationships in college often go undefined; it’s surprisingly easy to go on 10 dates with someone without considering yourselves a couple, or you could be dating your significant other for a year without having ever gone on a date. We tend to avoid labels at all costs—but without labels, how do we know if we are or aren’t together?

Our friends are the unsung heroes of our lives. They have this sort of magical knowledge that lets them instantly tell if you are upset, how upset you are and exactly what to do to make you feel better.

Can we define cheating as just the physical stuff? And if not, where do we draw the line?

Being whipped to the point where it interferes with your daily life is undeniably a bad thing. If it gets to a point where you start bailing on friends to help your boyfriend’s grandmother pick out flowers for her garden, you definitely need to reevaluate a few things. But when it comes to a couple who occasionally bring each other dinner, or spend several hours thinking of the ideal gift for their significant other, maybe tagging them as whipped is a little harsh.

Baggage. It’s the one thing all of us have that no one will fess up to having. That time you were cheated on, the certain someone who broke your heart, the crazy ex who won’t leave you alone—it’s everywhere, but everyone tries to hide it.