Dating in college is complex. People are figuring out who they are and what they want, and many are finally getting the opportunity to have relationships with people that aren’t based on “we’re of the same group, so I guess we’re friends,” but based on deeper connections and commonalities. If and when attraction enters the equation, we often take things too personally, judge too rashly, and too often fail to see the bigger picture beyond our desires.

Worse, we’re used to hearing all types of no-doubt exaggerated, one-sided “context” that distorts our perceptions of social interactions in general.

The college experience we all hear about is more than the sum of the college experiences we hear all about. The clarity of the picture in mind often determines whether something is a defining brushstroke vs. a nigh-ruinous splatter.