During one of this week's phone calls with my mom, I was trying to explain to her what "talking" meant. It's hard to convey both mine and my friend's relationships -- or lack of relationships -- with my parents and even harder with those in generations preceding theirs. To my dad, "dating" doesn't necessarily mean exclusive and to my mom, "talking" is confusing as heck. To understand the culture that we live in today, I gave her a timeline of the stages us millennials experience before a relationship.

Friendzoned: Stop here. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Once you're in the friend zone, it's a rarity to come out unless you're a character in a television show.

Example: Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible, Chase and Zoey

Interested: You think I'm cute, I think you're cute. You've got a great personality and you kinda dig mine too. There may be some romantically-oriented tension. Let's get to know each other.

Note: This stage could potentially last forever. "Interested" does not equate intention of pursuit.

Hanging Out: This is the active stage of getting to know someone you're interested in. It also doesn't necessarily mean pursuit. AKA this can stop randomly for no reason at any time. And unfortunately, often college students consider this synonymous with "hooking up."

Have a Thing: Only good friends are aware of this so-called "thing." By this stage, it is socially acceptable to be upset if it stops here. You both have crushes, and it's obvious to the other person that the feelings are mutual.

Talking: What's the biggest difference between if you have a thing with someone or if you're talking? Talking implies a future. It's usually exclusive and even casual friends will know . At this stage, you may have mentioned the person you're "talking to" to your parents, but also probably scaled it down to "hanging out" just in case it doesn't work out.

AND FINALLY…

Dating: This is easiest to explain and most familiar. It's exclusive, it's real, everyone knows. Usually dating comes weeks or even months after talking. Commonly overheard: "We've been dating for about three months but talking for, like, eight."

Moral of the story? Right now, dating culture is just about as confusing as girls are to boys and vice versa. Forget the labels and just do you.