Jokes roll off tongues as easily as two plus two, however the constant, and somewhat overused joke about girls coming to college to receive their Mrs. degrees has some validity to it. Girls, have you ever felt overwhelmed in the sea of college boys, occasionally finding a man, and end up frustrated? The hook up culture on campus is so prevalent that if you are trying to find a real relationship, quality men are hard to come by. And even more so, men that also want something substantial, or something more than a casual hook up.
That being said, we as girls have a whole other obstacle that we must conquer in regards to dating. How often do you see couples where the girl is older than the guy? In my experience, it's not that common. But, men dating younger girls is socially acceptable, and from the female perspective, valued if you're dating that 'hot older guy'. Think about it, we aren't getting any younger: as we age, we move up grades, and years of older boys graduate and move on with their lives.
And while this is happening, new years of freshman girls are coming in. So, every year that we are in college, we lose years potential suiters while men gain them. I don't know about everyone else, but that stresses me out. While I came to college to get an education, I'm not going to lie, finding a steady boyfriend or husband (far down the road) has crossed my mind. Knowing that my options are being cut by approximately 5,000 guys every year, is a crazy thing to think about.
While this may not bother some of you lovely ladies out there who just want to live young and wild and free, eventually the idea of settling down appeals to most, and by the time we get to that stage, our number of prospects has dwindled quite a bit.
College is a time to grow into yourself and live life to the fullest. Thoughts of the future can definitely cloud the spontaneity that goes hand in hand with college life, however this concept is something that us college females should keep in mind. While we are out there having fun, make sure to be nice to everyone, and maybe say hi to that shy nerdy kid in your anthro class who you secretly think is cute. Why don't we defy the social construct of age in dating, and check out a younger guy or two!
As Avril Lavigne wisely said, “he was a skater boy she said see ya later boy, he was't good enough for her. Now he's a super star slammin' on his guitar, does your pretty face see what he's worth?" Everyone has their own “sk8r boi" qualities, and you should never use age as an excuse to not date that cute younger boy, because your friends don't approve. Break down those societal norms and go after the guys you like, regardless of age. Take a second and really think about it, because if you don't, you're going to be limiting yourself. So, meet as many people as you can, because you never know who you'll click with, when you'll meet, or how old they'll be!
