With summer coming to an end and and fall quickly approaching, I find myself becoming more and more nostalgic about this summer as my mind begins to dread my return to college. A lot has changed for everyone, except me. I’m still single. The only thing that has changed now is the fact that I am legal and can get into clubs which gives me more leverage to dive in on the social-scene even more, which, is what I’ve been longing. But when it comes to me and relationships I’m still on the sidelines taking notes, learning the do’s and don’t's of sex and relationships from my friends. But all isn’t lost, although I’m lagging on the side lines of sex, my social-life is increasing with people exponentially. That’s always one of the greatest perks about living in Murrieta, at my age, every night is almost like a social adventure; you never know who you are going to meet, become acquainted with, play beer pong partners with, or have an in-depth conversation about how it isn’t possible to get addicted to Marijuana. In this city, everyone has a story.
Two nights back, I was with a friend, at a particular house, on a particular balcony, having a conversation particularly about ‘Sex and Relationships at the young at of 18′ with one of my closest friends’ Kiley Fleischer. Slightly intoxicated off of cheap beer, our discussion, surprisingly, seemed to make perfect sense. We came to the conclusion, and one conclusion only that we are 18 and it’s as simple as that. At one point in the conversation she nonchalantly exclaims, “I’m not trying to get married, have kids, move in together, and what not. I just wanna have fun.” I agreed with a quick nod and I went on with a nod and dove deeper into the conversation by saying that I feel as if people our age are looking for love for all of the wrong reasons, and in all of the wrong places. She agreed with a quick nod and we both uttered the same words again, but this time, once more with feeling, “We’re 18, what the hell are we thinking?”.
There was more conversing of course, but she began to scratch the surface of other issues, leaving this one to pasture, while I went ahead and thought a little deeper about it. Personally, I feel that relationships today are what cell phones were to people in the 90′s or late, late 80′s, people only want them just to have them; and once they have them, they gloat, brag, obsess, and such about it and the moment something goes wrong with it, the very moment that the cell phone has issues and stops working, into the trash it goes and they get another. Being single while in high school or college might as well be apart of the seven deadly sins. I feel like being in a relationship is a low-budget film and ‘friends with benefit’s is completely appropriate to see in theatres. I have many different outlooks, views, and perspectives on love. But that particular conversation, at that particular house, on that particular balcony, with Kiley, gave me the sudden epiphany that I’m 18. We were all 18 at some point in life; and just because we don’t bang someone in four months, just because we aren’t in an exclusive relationship, just because we’re technically single — doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re doomed. We’re young, we’re free, and we’re legal. What more could we possibly want right now?
–by Mike Elgin
