After recently watching VH1’s Top 100 Best Songs of the 2000’s, with Beyonce and Jay-Z winning the #1 best song with Crazy In Love, it got me thinking about love. Love is such a complex word, and everyone seems to have their own definition, but a truth that seems universal is that everyone wants this “love,” the closest thing we seem to have to magic.

For the past couple of years, it’s not much of a shocker when you walk through the streets and see a teen parent. “Look here she comes!”  “Dang! That’s crazy!” “I can’t believe she’s pregnant!” These are the words that are said among my community as a first reaction when they see a teen mom. “When’s the baby shower?” “Do you know the sex?” “How far along are you?” These words, on the contrary, are from those who are a little less judgmental, and are a little more used to the situation. No matter the response, when it’s not you in their shoes, you should think twice about your reactions.

Although I have an older sister who I saw go through the turbulence and heartbreaks of relationships, she never actually gave me dating love and advice. And after having experienced my own share of relationship mistakes, I really wish my sister had given me some sort of advice that could have prevented the idiotic mistakes I made. Having gone through the troubles of relationships herself, I wish she would have sat me down and told me things about boys and how I should be treated in a relationship. There are many things I would have liked to be made aware of, and when the time comes, I plan on giving my younger sister a head's up on the four things I wish I would have learned from my older sister.

Summer is the perfect time for romance isn’t it? The weather’s warm and there’s no homework or over-packed schedules to distract you from the really important stuff—like spending time with the boy or girl you’re into. But if you don’t have a car—or more importantly, a driver’s license—the summer months can also put a damper on your romance.  After all, school gives you seven or eight hours together—especially if you have some of the same classes—but once the summer comes it may be hard to see each other.  So how do you keep your relationship going strong through the warm weather months? Here are a few tips.