Love is in the air on campuses all across the country…love that is for vehicles! Yes, cars, vans, and trucks alike are always being washed and shined to look their very best! After all, what would it look like for you to be looking good and your ride be jacked up? Is your car just like dating? Yeah, you look good on the outside when you go cruising around to catch someone’s eye, but how does your vehicle look on the inside? Imagine you are like a car or truck or van. What’s it like for someone who gets close to you? Do you act the same way publicly as you do privately? Is your check engine light on because of a bad break up and … [Read more...]

Recently, I was on this panel discussing the difficult decision for singles of what to accomplish on the first date. Is it a time to just relax and enjoy each other or should it take on an interview format—complete with long term hopes and plans tossed out on the table in the first hour? My comment about it seemed controversial and there was some push back from some of the audience members. After all, who wants to take as long as I suggested to fall in love?! Why should you watch someone in that many settings before you jump head long into something permanent?! Was I kidding?! Well here’s what I said and I’ll let you decide: “It … [Read more...]

Don’t you just hate it when you’re driving down a single lane street behind a distracted driver and after waiting what seems to be hours at a red light, the light turns green and THEY WON’T GO!?! A red light means stop, a yellow light means take caution but a green light is a big signal for GO! When you meet someone new, there is usually a reason to take caution and watch out for sudden surprises. You have to take your time and ease through the interactions. If anything sounds funny or looks suspicious or even rubs you the wrong way, definitely see that as a sign to STOP. It may not be a permanent stop but it is definitely a … [Read more...]

Jane goes to a campus party and enjoys herself with her friends. The alcohol is free and Jane has a little too much to drink. When the party ends, Jane is walking back to her dorm room alone. On the way a car full of guys from the party offers her a ride. She recognizes a couple of them and assumes she can trust them to get her to her dorm. On the way, they stop by someone’s apartment and everyone goes in. Jane doesn’t realize it until she’s inside that there’s no after party going on. One thing leads to another and she is gang raped and left to fend for herself. How could she have gotten out of this situation? Who’s going to … [Read more...]

Sometimes when you’re driving happily along in your car, truck or SUV, you might notice a light that comes on and stays on on your dashboard. It’s the ‘check engine’ light. It usually means that there’s something going wrong under your hood that needs attention. You can continue to drive without checking it out or you can pay attention to this signal that something is malfunctioning. If you wait and the car breaks down, you may have costly repair bills. If you look into it before its too late, you can save yourself a lot of trouble. It's the same in relationships. Did you know that the average couple waits 6 years to get help … [Read more...]

It is amazing to see how many times two people who love each other can misunderstand each other in an average day. If it happens too much they begin to think they have a “communication problem.” Some people call it “bad communication.” Actually the communication is working fine; it’s the message being conveyed that’s bad. You see, the body doesn’t lie. Though people and words do - bodies, faces, posture and voice tones do not lie. Most of the time when two people are growing into a couple, they aren’t always as confident with each other as they will become over time. They verbally test the waters instead of just diving … [Read more...]

Ever found yourself reminiscing about the past? Wonder what would have happened if you and—you know—had given it a whirl back when you had a chance? Are you especially curious now since things don’t seem to be working out with you know who that you’re currently dating? Can you imagine driving down the street with your eyes glued to the rear view mirror? Sounds dangerous; especially since the rear view mirror is tiny and pointed in the wrong direction compared to the front windshield. Why have a front windshield? Because there are so many things to focus on in front of you rather than behind you—in your present and your future … [Read more...]

When I think about what college students struggle with in relationships, I come up with two things. One is that too often when a relationship starts, students believe they MUST make it work even if it shows signs of not working. What I mean by this is that if Sarah and John begin a relationship and find that they are not best for each other, it can be really hard for them to end it without feeling as if some character flaw of their own was to blame. Either one could carry feelings of rejection for weeks or even months after the final goodbye. Some, these days, are going as far as considering suicide or even homicide. This is just not … [Read more...]

When two people are dating, they usually expect each other to be totally honest when it comes to what’s going on in the relationship. If one is interested in someone else, the other hopes to find out about it in a conversation, and not in a late night shocking surprise. But what if you are interested in someone other than the person you are dating? How do you deal with it? Do you just tell them or do you try to hide it? Let’s say your ex is becoming more interesting these days and is now more than available to rekindle the flame? Should you sneak over and check things out? It kind of reminds me of texting and driving. If you are … [Read more...]

Have you ever seen someone driving under the influence? They think everything’s fine but they might be weaving in and out of traffic or speeding or even worse, driving on the wrong side of the road! There’s a funny commercial out showing drunk drivers getting stopped by police officers. The officer says, “Sir, have you been drinking tonight” and the driver who is up to his ears in beer says, “No, officer. Not a drop.” It’s funny because it doesn’t matter if there’s beer flowing out of the car windows, drunk drivers think they are in their right minds making good decisions. Have you ever seen how a person acts when they … [Read more...]