They Began as College Sweethearts...



Prince William & Kate Middleton



They began as college sweethearts, but today Kate & William start their new lives together as husband and wife. This real life fairytale is providing American's with a taste of royalty. This story is one of romance and fantasy and love. The future King & Queen of England, however, took almost ten years to make it to the alter. This beautiful love story just offers us warm and fuzzies and so much false hope! It sends the message that if you just wait.... and wait like Kate you too can marry the man of your dreams. But it doesn't really happen that way.

The couple met in college and dated off and on for almost ten years. He said to her in 2007, be patient and I will make you my wife eventually and she was, and he did. But is this romantic story the exception or the rule?

Should you wait on the one you love or move on with your life???

I think about this question almost every day. You always here from older adults about "the one that got away" and it kind of makes you wonder. How do you know when the one is "The One" or the one to let go. Sometimes you need to move on and sometimes you need to go back! But how do you know the difference between the two?

William fell in love with Kate at the age of 19, but he wasn't quite ready to committ early on in their relationship. As a young soldier, he worked hard and played hard too! He lived it up and partied a bit before getting down on one knee. But, I am not attempting to bash William, because I love Prince William! So let me just say that I am not teamKate or teamWilliam, but I am teamWillandKate.

Anywho, Will & Kate eventually got married (today) after a long courtship. But I sympathize for both individuals in this situation. As a woman, I feel for Kate waiting and waiting on the ring. It is very difficult to give someone your heart and know that you want to marry them, but end up waiting and waiting for years. On the other hand, I understand why Will (or any man) would want to be a bit more cautious in matters of the heart. Especially when you think about the fact that William suffered through his parents' traumatic divorce, it makes sense for him to be more careful.

Marriage is supposed to be forever so if you really do have forever, does it really matter when forever starts? We all want to find that one special someone that we're supposed to spend forever with, but you really just never know how the fairytale will unfold.

Roommate Rules

I recently moved into an apartment with two of my closest friends. I was so excited! My first apartment - the official transition from the twin bed to the full. A kitchen. A washer and dryer. A full size fridge. These were all things I had missed while living on campus (though I enjoyed my time there) and had saved to thoroughly enjoy in my senior year. What I didn't expect, however, was how living in an apartment would change my relationship with my roomies. But I quickly learned that living with roommates can truly prepare you for living with a future mate.

Like I said, these are not random roommates, these are close friends, so this is not a blog to bash them, nor am I saying they are terrible roommates. I am simply expressing the fact that in every relationship there must be communication, cooperation, and consideration. These three Cs will ease almost any living situation!

Communication is key to express your thoughts. I suck at expressing myself to those I love. I am a Communication Studies major and have little to no problem expressing myself in many aspects of my life. But for some strange reason I avoid communicating with the people closest to me at all costs. I am terrified of hurting their feelings or damaging the relationship so I usually tend to keep my feelings to myself. But it is important to speak up! (I'm learning and trying) If you feel a certain way, but don't tell your roommate, they will never know! So you may be upset that they left the dishes in the sink, but if you never tell them they'll have no idea.

Cooperation is also imperative to have a successful roommie relationship. For instance, I got so upset that the trash was just piling up, but one day I just asked myself, "What's more important - being upset that no one took the trash out or having no piles of trash in the house?" And as it turns out, taking the trash out myself made me feel much better than waiting around on someone else to do it. So sometimes you just have to work together and realize that the other person is not trying to do the little things that annoy you on purpose, they may have just had a busy day. Just be grateful that leaving the toilet seat up is not an issue (yet)!

Consideration is the last of the 3 Cs and probably the most important. Keep in mind that you are probably doing things to annoy them too. Wouldn't you want them to be considerate of your feelings and respectful of your needs. Most people in college nowadays grew up with a room to their selves and are not used to sharing space with people who do things completely different. We all grew up in different households and have been taught to do things differently. You have to learn to be considerate of each other and work things out.

Living with a roommate is the closest thing to being married as you're gonna get (without getting married). Think of it as your dress rehearsal and treat your roommates as you would want to be treated. The most important thing to remember is Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (and it's all small stuff!). That's not only the title of an excellent book, but it is also very true and very applicable. So the next time your roomie (or hubby) leaves a load in the dryer for three days, ask yourself, "In the grand scheme of things, does it matter??" NO!

PS - I love my Girlfriends

Back to School... Back to Boys!

So it's that time of year again... time to hit the books and focus. While some of you may choose to focus on your studies, others will focus on finding a new boo.

Whether you're starting kindergarten or going for your Master's, there's just something about the school year that sparks the desire to start everything in your life fresh and new. You buy new clothes, get a new hair cut, and sometimes a new bf/gf. But before you get back I have a few tips for you (and reminders for me ;) ).

1. Unless you're a freshman, don't hunt out the freshies!
I know it is very tempting to us all when you see new people (prey) on campus, but try to refrain. Sophomore year it's not so bad, junior year it's a little risky, but for those of us who will be seniors in the fall... STOP! It's not cool to be a cougar in college. When you've been there and done that, it's kind of hard to go through those growing pains with someone else. You need someone who is on your level and is going in the same direction as you.

2. Don't let dating distract you (too much) from your school work
It's important to have fun in college, but you should also keep in mind why you're there in the first place. Relationships in school can consume your spare time and replace the much-needed libarary time. I hate to sound parental, but you gotta take a step back and remember to stay focused. If you still want to have a little companionship maybe you try a study date or meet up for things like lunch or gym time that are already in your schedule.

3. Don't go for the same guys as your friends, it won't end well
When school begins it's hot and everything's beautiful, and you line up with your friends and pick out who gets who. But just make sure you don't all go for the same person. You may jokingly agree that "(S)he's fine" but when somebody gets serious things could get ugly.