College is one of the few opportunities we have that allows us to be constantly surrounded with people our own age. With an excess amount of people to meet, why be tied down in a relationship? Many college students, understandably, would rather "play the field" while they can.

My friend, lets call her Sarah, had this same mindset coming into her freshman year.

One lazy afternoon I was sitting on my futon finishing up some homework when Sarah barrelled into my room. She came bounding through my dorm door, looking extremely flustered.

“Are you alone?” She asked nervously. Before she gave me time to answer, she slammed the door shut.

“The weirdest thing just happened to me. Remember the guy I took to a sorority function last night? Well he slept over, and something weird happened”

At this point, I had no idea what words were about to come out of her mouth. I was prepared for just about everything except for what she said next.

“…….He kept asking me about my life and actually wanted to get to know me… isn’t that weird?”

I had no idea how to respond to this abrupt situation, so it took me a few minutes to wrap my head around what was going on:

1. A guy Sarah had classes with slept over after a sorority function.

2.They only knew each other in the classroom, so basically friendly strangers.

3. Instead of a casual hookup, this boy wants to know what makes Sarah who she is….. at least for now.

Ok got it.

For a casual hookup, yes that’s weird. Talking about your life, your past, your dreams, your fears, and then the “walk of shame” the next morning, don’t usually take place in the same time frame. What shocked me wasn’t the fact that this boy cared enough to get to know my friend, but it was the absolute frenzy it sent Sarah into the next day. She stood in front of me more confused than if I would have given her an advanced calculus problem to solve. You would have thought this boy asked her to marry him by the frantic, flustered way she was acting.

Although I was confused at first on why a boy getting to know her was such a weird thing, I began to realize what was going on. Sarah had no intention of getting into a relationship. She had no intention of this "hookup" leading anywhere. She especially did not plan on this seemingly random, cute guy to show such an interest in her. So why did the simple request of opening herself up just a little, become such a confusing and daunting task?

Here is why. Even if you're dead set on “playing the field in college” and not staying "tied down," your original thoughts are shattered when someone shows genuine interest in you. It doesn’t matter the situation; we all want someone to care about us just as much as we care about ourselves. And let’s face it, we care about ourselves a lot. A common thread between people is we all want someone to truly take the time to know us. Someone who is fascinated by the idea of us and makes us feel important. Different. Special.

Not being tied down sounds great and very freeing. Playing the field seems like a good idea because why not experience as much as you can during your four years at Clemson right? But the reality is if you were put in the same shoes as Sarah, you would be pretty freaked out too. Not because the girl or guy you took home asked you personal questions, but because you will start to realize playing the field isn’t as satisfying when you suddenly have the option of being cared for by one person. It will send you into a frenzy because you may just come to terms with your cravingto be truly known.