2008 Woodie Awards
Melody Explains It All: Unlike fine wine, relationship advice not better with age
Melody Regino '08
Issue date: 2/28/07 Section: Features
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Last weekend on a family vacation, my little brother turned to me and said, "Girls: I do not get them!"
At the tender age of fourteen, his limited experience in the scary world of dating provided him with little confidence and not many answers.
He would seek advice from the typical 14-year-old panel of braced face best friends and his fellow teammates who were rookies on several playing fields.
As I sat and chatted about high school drama and bubble gum romance, I couldn't help but think-do we ever really know?
I attempt to "explain it all" on a weekly basis, but at times it seems as if I am as clueless as a freshman in high school. The only wisdom that I possess and my little brother seems to lack is mere experience.
Dating situations, starting and ending several relationships, and witnessing the countless successes and disasters of numerous friends' love lives has helped me compile somewhat of a thesis, but with no guarantees.
No matter how many problems we think we fix (either our own or others), how many dates we enjoy or cringe at the thought of, or the number of heartbreaks we endure or cause, I don't think we will ever really have a clue, but maybe that's the fun part.
If we always had the right answers or perfected the science of romantic chemistry, we would never truly enjoy the beauty of being young and stupid.
This is our time to make mistakes, create the stories we'll tell when we're older, and discover what we think are our intended answers.
With all of this said, what is the point of asking for advice, if none of us ever really has a clue?
Sure, sitting around a table of pizza and ice cream with your closest friends reenacting "Sex in the City" scenes is fantastic, and so is that macho guy talk at the gym, but does it help?
I can tell my closest friends "you deserve better" or "man up and ask her already," but what will those clichéd words of wisdom really accomplish?
At the tender age of fourteen, his limited experience in the scary world of dating provided him with little confidence and not many answers.
He would seek advice from the typical 14-year-old panel of braced face best friends and his fellow teammates who were rookies on several playing fields.
As I sat and chatted about high school drama and bubble gum romance, I couldn't help but think-do we ever really know?
I attempt to "explain it all" on a weekly basis, but at times it seems as if I am as clueless as a freshman in high school. The only wisdom that I possess and my little brother seems to lack is mere experience.
Dating situations, starting and ending several relationships, and witnessing the countless successes and disasters of numerous friends' love lives has helped me compile somewhat of a thesis, but with no guarantees.
No matter how many problems we think we fix (either our own or others), how many dates we enjoy or cringe at the thought of, or the number of heartbreaks we endure or cause, I don't think we will ever really have a clue, but maybe that's the fun part.
If we always had the right answers or perfected the science of romantic chemistry, we would never truly enjoy the beauty of being young and stupid.
This is our time to make mistakes, create the stories we'll tell when we're older, and discover what we think are our intended answers.
With all of this said, what is the point of asking for advice, if none of us ever really has a clue?
Sure, sitting around a table of pizza and ice cream with your closest friends reenacting "Sex in the City" scenes is fantastic, and so is that macho guy talk at the gym, but does it help?
I can tell my closest friends "you deserve better" or "man up and ask her already," but what will those clichéd words of wisdom really accomplish?
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