This Relationship Corner: Why you need Romance

Men, today's article is mainly aimed at you. I feel the need to let you know that Valentine's Day is fast approaching. You have a little less than two weeks to get it together and act like you had it figured out all along. There's still time to get her (or him) something special and make it a memorable day. Don't say I never look out for you.

Now, I can hear some of you responding already. "It's just a made-up holiday" is probably the main crux of your argument. And I concede that Valentines Day as it is now is pretty made up, no doubt influenced by the dastardly union of Hollywood and Hallmark. This knowledge, you argue, gets you out of having to made a big to-do over Valentine's Day. For that, I have this answer:

No it doesn't. Celebrate it anyway.

This Relationship Corner: Being Ready for a Relationship

My wife complained that for a blog about writing, I talk too much about pop culture.  So today, I thought I would take a look at one of my other passions, relationships.  I talk a lot about relationships of all kinds in my communications classes, but mostly romantic relationships, and I enjoy passing on my meager wisdom in these Dr. Phil moments. 

To be fair, I hardly know everything about relationships. I'm still figuring them out myself, and I make just as many mistakes as anyone else (as my wife will attest.) However, I'd like to think that I do have something to offer regarding relationships. And if you happen to be someone like me, an introvert, geek, gamer, owner of the Technical Manual for the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D, then hopefully I can help you out with what I know.

Today's topic is you. Before you can even think about getting into a long-term romantic relationship, you first need to look at yourself. You need to make sure that you're ready for a relationship, because unless you get yourself ready, it's going to be very, very difficult to find someone, let alone maintain a relationship.