Category Archives: Love
What Counts As Cheating in a College Relationship?
Cheating is an awkward and difficult situation to approach. But it’s harder when you’re not really sure whether it was even cheating in the first place. This is even more common in college relationships because they’re often more casual than relationships when you’re older. You’re just spreading your wings and trying to find your place in the dating world. In these types of relationships, what really counts as cheating? Before you decide to figure out if your partner is cheating, take these steps to settle your worries.
Really Think About What Makes You Uncomfortable
Each person is going to have different boundaries in a relationship. What you consider cheating may not be what others consider cheating. Is it cheating if your partner maintains a profile on a dating app? Is it cheating if your partner texts other people in a flirty manner? Some behaviors, such as liking a slightly risqué picture on social media, may be incredibly important or not remotely an issue, depending on the person.
You don’t need to write down a list of every single behavior that you would consider cheating, but it’s important to draw some general guidelines. In the physical sense, what counts as cheating? Consider the same question for emotional closeness and online presence. That way, you’ll at least have all your bases covered.
Temper Your Expectations
Remember that not every partner you have will probably think exactly the same as you do when it comes to cheating. Unless you’re in favor of an entirely open relationship and you only date other people who feel the same, you’ll probably have some differences between your expectations. You need to be willing to come to an agreement somewhere in the middle.
Determine what things are most important to you and what things you’re willing to work through. If you both have extremely strong opinions on certain behaviors that neither of you are willing to budge on, it might be time to move on from the relationship. This is another part of dating in college: it doesn’t mean that either of you are bad people, just that you don’t match quite right.
Talk Candidly With Your Partner About Boundaries
You don’t want to determine your boundaries and then just hope that your partner picks up on those boundaries throughout your relationship. Although it might feel a bit awkward, you want to talk to your partner about your boundaries as soon as things become “exclusive.” It might not be the right topic for a first date, but you should talk about it as soon as you feel like your relationship is a little more serious.
This also makes it easier if your partner does cheat later on in the relationship. If you don’t make your boundaries known early on, it’s easier to end up miscommunicating, which can unintentionally damage the relationship. Particularly unscrupulous partners may even use it as a way to turn things against you. It’s better for all involved if you just address it directly.
Maintain Your Boundaries Through the Relationship
Once you’ve set those boundaries, remember that it’s okay to stick to your guns throughout. Just because you’ve been dating someone for a long time doesn’t mean they’re allowed to do things that make you uncomfortable.
This doesn’t mean that you absolutely have to keep your boundaries the same as they were at the start of your relationship. You can renegotiate certain boundaries throughout the relationship. If your feelings change and you’re more comfortable with certain things now, that’s okay. Just don’t let your partner make you feel guilty for holding those boundaries.
Conclusion
There are plenty of ways that you can discover if someone is cheating. But it’s extremely important that you establish what is and isn’t cheating before any of these problems even come up. Before you start worrying that your partner is cheating on you, take a step back. If you’re willing to have a serious conversation with your partner about your cheating boundaries, the relationship will work better for everyone involved.
Unexpected Surprises That Having a Pet Brings
Being a pet owner is undeniably fulfilling and rewarding. Nothing compares to the love, affection, and companionship of an animal. However, pets aren’t limited to simply being your best friend, they provide incredible health benefits in addition to keeping a constant smile on your face. These are unexpected surprises that pets provide for us:
Improve cardiovascular health
According to a study done by Harvard Medical School, pets were found to have the ability to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, thus reducing one’s risk of developing heart disease, hypertension, or any other life-threatening condition. Additionally, owning a pet encourages you to exercise, which is one of the key factors in combating diabetes. For example, dogs require constant exercise and sunshine; they can’t stay cooped up indoors or in a backyard. Otherwise, they become depressed and stressed – just like a human being! Since pets depend on their owners for the well-being, an owner is challenged to follow a routine each day that satisfies a pet’s needs as well as their own.
Detect and sense cancer and pregnancy
One of the most incredible surprises that having a pet brings is their ability to detect cancer and sense pregnancy. Dogs and cats specifically have scent receptors that are 100,000 times stronger than a human’s, making them more sensitive to detecting external elements. There have been stories of dogs who began oddly sniffing their owners which led to the owner’s discovery of early stages cancerous cells in their body. In regards to pregnancy, an animal’s senses are hyperaware of the chemistry changes that undergo in a woman’s body that indicate a baby is on the way.
Alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety
Pets provide psychological benefits and support in personal struggles that are healing and positive to those treating depression and anxiety. In fact, some people turn to pet ownership to treat current depression and anxiety along with medication and therapy. When one has depression, owning a pet gives them a sense of responsibility and purpose. Because an individual directs their energy into taking care of a pet, the action reinforces the constant feeling of reward, which is in the form of keeping a pet alive and the animal’s genuine dependence on being successfully taken care of by you all over again. With anxiety, on the other hand, a pet becomes an anchor when panic and anxiety attacks begin to overwhelm you. Since they are acutely aware of the emotions and behaviors of humans, pets can ease the symptoms of anxiety and redirect your focus onto them. Most of the time, the simple comfort of an animal who loves and does not judge you is enough to subside the inherent feelings of loneliness and isolation that come with depression and the overwhelming moments of anxiety.
Diminish stress
Nothing feels better than coming home to an animal that is nothing but happy to see you. Petting an animal kickstarts the hormone production of endorphins and dopamine that come with a comforting sense of touch, which also simultaneously decreases levels of cortisol and adrenaline. Our reactions in stressful situations also become less explosive when in the presence of an animal. This is due to the fact that animals provide a sense of support and do not believe we lack value even in our most negative moments. Last but not least, animals make us laugh when they do silly things, which also reduces our physical tension and strengthens the immune system.
No matter the kind of animal you have welcomed into your family, you are looking forward to a real treat. Pets are full of unconditional love and irreplaceable companionship that not only makes a lasting impact on our health, but our life.
On a Budget? 5 Ways to Be the Best Man Without Going Broke
Image Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/wedding-marriage-buttonhole-formal-1031493/
Weddings can come with a hefty price tag for the bride and groom. But if you’re one of the many attendants that have been asked to help out on the big day, you can expect to shell out a decent amount of coin. While you want to give the prospective couple your all in making it a memorable occasion, you still need to remain within your budget. The following are important tips on how to be the best man for your friend’s wedding without going broke.
Save in Advance
Attending college is a great way to further your education. But with the many expenses such as housing, food and supplies, your finances can take a hit. If your college buddy asks you to stand up in his wedding, you may need to supplement your income to help pay for the costs associated with the event. If your friend’s wedding is 12 months down the road, you can put away money each month. Write down a detailed list of what you’ll be expected to pay such as the wedding attire, bachelor party, gift and more. Divide that amount of money by the number of months until the actual wedding, and that is what you need to save per month. You also want to pad the bachelor fund with additional money in case there are unexpected expenses such as lodging and travel.
Implement a Budget
With emotions at heightened levels, even budget-conscious individuals can get caught up in the wedding frenzy of their best friend. The groom may gift the attendants with affordable gift ideas for groomsmen to show their appreciation and love for standing up in their wedding. But you don’t have to break your budget to purchase them a gift that is well beyond your means. Go over your finances to determine the expenses associated with the wedding and how much you can afford to spend. When you get the impulse to overspend and do monetary damage to your finances, refer back to the budget.
Charge Only What You Can Afford
Using a credit card is a great way to earn cash back incentives and bonus points that you can spend on airline mileage. But if you’re planning to put wedding expenses on your credit card, you want to only charge items that you can afford. Once your credit card statement comes in, pay the amount that you owe immediately. You can also set up a special bank account for the wedding and pay down the debt as you charge the items.
Travel Economically
If the wedding you were asked to be best man is a destination event, you want to try to save money traveling. You can begin by using mileage that you’ve earned on credit card charges to pay for your lodging or flight. If you don’t have miles to spare, search the Internet for the best prices. For those flying in the U.S., you may be able to garner the best deal on flights 47 days before your trip. For International weddings, you want to secure a plane ticket much further in advance. You may also wish to sign up for discounts and specials with the airline company. If you’re looking for inexpensive accommodations, Airbnb may have rental homes or condo’s that are much cheaper than a hotel. If the bride and groom have carved out a set of rooms at a particular hotel for guests, you may also want to share lodging with another groomsmen to cut back on expenses.
Tone Down the Bachelor Party
The best man and other attendants standing up are typically in charge of the bachelor party festivities. This can be especially great if you’re looking to keep the costs for the party within budget. While you don’t want to scrimp on your buddy’s last hurrah, you don’t have to go overboard with something outlandish. Plus, destination bachelor parties can create drama for both the prospective bride and groom. Look for events that are fun and celebrate the groom such as a day of golf and dinner afterwards or a sports game to cheer your favorite team on to victory.
Being asked to stand up in a friend’s wedding is an honor that you don’t want to say no to. But you don’t want the costs associated with the event to lead to your financial demise. When you plan ahead and prepare for the expenses of being best man using the above tips, you won’t find any budgetary surprises.
Dating tips for the modern college man
The dating scene has transformed into an entirely different landscape to what it once was years ago especially for the modern man out there. The diversity in the methods of which to get out there and date are a very different giving people a whole host of new and exciting options.
Let’s look at traditional dating tips first. While it can certainly be seen as the more intimidating of options, a man can meet a woman (or man for that matter) in public. Whether it’s in the campus coffee shop, down town or simply whilst taking your morning jog you never know what might be around the corner.
Then of course you have the late night scene. Night clubs, bars, pubs, parties – all of these often brimming with single people looking to meet the one or simply have a bit of fun. This often tends to be the more popular means of meeting someone in public, the alcohol no doubt having a profound effect on one’s confidence.
Something that has exploded over the past decade when it comes to the dating scene is the use of the internet. It’s easy to take for granted but the internet actually offers perhaps the best range of methods in meeting new people for both casual and long-term encounters.
Dating websites, once considered a seedy and taboo subject are now seen as perfectly common place even being responsible for a large percentage of hook-ups both long term and casual. The fantastic thing about dating websites is that we aren’t just restricted to the one option. While you may see mainstream dating websites advertised on the TV, there are also plenty of far more specific options out there to match any specific tastes. If you just want to hook-up for a casual fling, meet a married person through a married affairs site or even have a thing for someone in a uniform, there are a number of sites out there that tailor to your need.
Then of course you have forums and chat venues where you can simply enter into conversation with people all over the world. As you might expect these sorts of tools are more catered to no strings dating, anonymity often being an exciting prospect to many.
Dating has even moved beyond the realms of the internet and into the palm of our hands thanks to handy applications for our smart phones. Some mobile applications make meeting others for sexual encounters as easy as the swipe of your screen while others cater to casual, friendship and long term needs. This is perhaps the most efficient means of gaining dates – the only thing you need to do is look down at your phone to contact others.
The brilliant thing about living in our modern days is the sheer wealth of options he has when it comes to dating. Be it casual or something more committed and long term, guys are sure to find what they are looking for much easier.
