Having an understanding of what is going on in the world is just as important as who is going to be your Formal date.  

One trait that is always a good measure of a flawless date is how well you can converse with each other. We've all been there. You and your date have like, nothing in common and like, let's just go drink. There's a way to preserve your dignity as a date and make for one hell of a conversationalist on the fly.  

This isn't about mastering small talk during rush, this is about ways to have a truly riveting conversation with another human being. It starts with the simple task of being aware of what is affecting the world right here and now.  The best way to become news conscious... reading, watching and listening to the news.  

This doesn't just include sports, pop culture or celebrity gossip.  I'm talking how actions of other nations affect relations abroad, strife and growth in countries other than America, and changing policies at home other than pot legalization will affect our futures.  As millennials, we're faced with being stereotyped as lazy, selfish, and immediate gratification desiring twenty-somethings. 

Don't take it to heart dear peers, use our supposed downfalls as positives!  The immediate availability of news via the internet now is insane.  Take advantage of it by following news sources on Twitter like The Wall Street Journal or Time.  Take it 'old school' and subscribe to newspapers or magazines in print to read as hard copies, or go along with the tech age of tablet subscriptions. Often times, when you subscribe to deliveries by snail mail, you can create a log-in for the associated websites and utilize both, The Odyssey is one of these sources (but it's free!). If reading isn't your thing, have the news playing in the background while you're going through your morning routine.  Sports Center and Morning News tend to repeat themselves, so just flip it back and forth. 

TV isn't always the best motivator to stay on task, so tune into a podcast, especially if opinionated talks are more your thing.  Honestly, when I hear podcasts, I think of my grandmother's static ridden talk shows on 89.7 AM, so I stick with in print news that has blogs, websites, iPad downloads and social media. Just buy one edition of a politically driven magazine and the benefits are enormous!

The ability to have meaningful conversations is a lost art among us millennials.  Not totally extinct, but in rare form.  Exchanging opinions based on a factual learning of current events that doesn't consist of Star magazine as your proof, with others who have done the same creates a better understanding of where people draw their conclusions about the world.  History classes may be boring, but if you think about it, we're living in what will become just that. Take advantage of your ability to know about these challenges during our life times!  You'll be a more respectable and well-rounded person for it.