Freshmen ladies, this column is for you. It may seem like just another ‘golly, college sure is different from high school’ column, but I feel like this is more important. It’s a public service, really. Remember back in high school when you could be nice to guys you weren’t interested in? Well, apparently that charmed time is over. I learned this recently and was a bit put out by it. I like being nice and have the ironically unlikable trait of wanting to be liked by everybody – a seemingly-harmless combination. But when the guy I was nice to started calling, and calling and calling, harmless wasn’t my choice word for describing my friendly tendencies. To be fair, I shouldn’t have given him my number. Also, assuming he was gay wasn’t the smartest move either. That’s lesson two in today’s lecture – don’t assume your new best dancing pal is gay, even though his moves are impeccable, and he isn’t afraid of a few extra spritzes of cologne. Those are stereotypes, and if we’re supposed to learn one thing in college, it’s to look past appearances and see what’s underneath. And sometimes what is underneath is a guy who wants to get in your pants. I should have seen it coming. Like my editor said, most gay guys aren’t out there searching for the grace to their will. If I want a shopping buddy I’d better stick to my sisters and mom. At least that way I get some free stuff out of it every now and then. But what does that leave us freshmen girls with? You can’t be nice to boys unless you are interested in them? To be blunt, that’s crap. It seems like now that we’ve grown up we’re back to kindergarten – all boys have cooties, except the cute ones. I won’t even go into how many reasons that is wrong. So who’s fault is it? Girls for leading guys on, or boys who take friendliness the wrong way? I’m not sure, I guess we’re both to blame. It’s messy and both sexes bear the brunt. What I’ve learned is to embrace the awkwardness, but I do use a bit more discretion when passing out my number.
—-Contact Emily McArdle at [email protected]