The world and rules of dating are forever changing and it’s getting harder and harder to keep up. Gone are the days of romance, and careful courtships supervised under the watchful eye of a lady’s parents (although they’re only a Jane Austen novel away). Dating has become a business and the capital is booty.

In my sincere, pragmatic and maybe even cynical opinion, the market for dating is just as bad as the housing market—shaky at best, and a complete and hopeless failure at worst. Guys these days want a short sale, and expect women to foreclose and sell property for far less than its worth. Even negotiation has taken on a new meaning, as more men are offering the take it or leave it approach, no negotiation at all. The market is open for one-night stands and recurring casual hookups without the commitment.

Business majors and non-business majors, alike, have mastered the concept of marketing and advertising. An advertisement can take on many forms, such as the clothes we wear, the things we say, and even our position and location in a room full of people. An advertisement from a player may look a little something like this: Overtly flirtatious and witty banter—he tells you what he thinks you want to hear, he’s subtly sexual, and he asks for your digits. You oblige, fully intending to put him to the test. He texts you the next night with no plans and only hopes of seeing you. You push his buttons, refusing to meet up with him later, and he angrily texts back “iight.” You never hear from him again.

Since when are players lazy?! Even those hoping to toot it and boot it don’t want to work for it. I guess that’s another important business concept. Time=Money Booty.

I happen to believe the only reason they’re demanding casual hookups, and on take it or leave it terms, is because some women are supplying it. Power is everything is business and relationships. We (women) have always had the power, whether or not we realize it.

I’m almost positive the guys have been reading about the Bonobo monkeys. Click the link: http://www.cracked.com/article_15926_the-15-most-bizarre-animal-mating-rituals.html

I realize that there are many sides to this coin. This is only one viewpoint of many and in no way intended to be a Taylor Swift-style, slut-shaming piece. Each of us is on our own path sexually and otherwise.

All I ask is that we remember our worth.

Special thanks to Erin Cohee and Jasmyn Howell.

Stay Sassy.

I am well versed in the single life. Aside from a short hiccup of a relationship in my high school career, my plus one to parties and other excursions has always been another single girlfriend.

I suppose I should begin by saying that I wasn’t allowed to date when other people began “dating.” My parents are the over-protective variety and I was the good child, silly enough to obey rules that were (and still are) meant to be broken. Sure, I received notes on yellow-lined paper from fifth grade admirers saying “circle yes or no if you like me,” but I never did anything more than shove them in the front pocket of my Limited Too jeans. I began writing notes of my own in the seventh grade to a cute Hispanic boy—we even exchanged Christmas presents—but things didn’t work out. Years later, I liked a clean-cut, decent boy I went to church with, but… that didn’t work out either. It was no fault of his, really. Any future relationship was a casualty of time and distance, as the following year I went to a residential high school an hour away from home and met the proverbial bad boy who made me forget all about my church boy. These days, the bad boy doesn’t necessarily come packaged wearing a leather jacket and sporting visible tattoos; this bad boy is the angst-filled, intelligent type who will break your heart by default. This guy made me think about things differently. He also made me mad one minute and weak in the knees the next. Needless to say, our roller coaster relationship didn’t last: 1. We were both sick from the ride and 2. My hair was windblown and tangled, and in the words of Sweet Brown, “ain’t nobody got time for that!” We just couldn’t agree on a few big issues/deal breakers, and he was going off to college the following year. We split in the middle of the night via text. I’m very into tradition.

Fast-forward almost two years. I’m still a sassy single girl, but this time around, I’m navigating the crazy world of college.

Each week I’ll be sharing a single girl’s perspective and my personal experiences in the dating game, college life in general and, of course, the oh-so-confusing male population.

Is this an advice column? Not in this lifetime. I had a breakup over text. This absolutely disqualifies me from giving any sort of advice. I do, however, believe in the power of shared experiences.

Continue with me on this journey, and let’s learn from one another. Single girls everywhere, buckle up. I’m known to be a fast driver.

Stay Sassy.