If You Think Girls are Bad...
by Jessica Higgins
, from the February 2003 issue of the SHS Saber Scribe (High school newspaper)

    Girls, have you ever been going out with a guy who seems absolutely perfect for you, and then one day he transforms into a totally different person? Have you ever fallen for your guy friend and used every technique possible to let him know you care about him? Of course, being a guy, he never catches on to your secret ploys. I think we can all agree that guys present a truly mind-boggling case for women. Everything they do is a mystery to us (the way they change when they're with their friends, the way they freak out over commitment, and most confusing of all, the way they can get ready in 5 minutes and still look perfect).
    First of all, guys are always complaining about us (the way we never know what we want, the mixed signals we send, our shoe obsessions, how long it takes us to get ready to go out, etc.) Ask any guy what confuses him about women and he'll have a list a mile long. However, just like guys complain about how confusing we are, we do the same thing.
    All men are the same in some aspects. They have the tendency to think with something other than their brain (and just so you guys know, we can tell the difference.) Anyway, many guys like to seem macho and tough, traits that probably stem from some caveman gene. It's been this way for as long as anyone can remember. When we're with you, and a guy looks at us the "wrong way," you threaten to beat him up! Well sorry, hun, but if we really wanted to we could beat him up ourselves, thankyouverymuch. We're strong, powerful women, and we refuse to be looked down on because of our gender. Welcome to 2003 boys...we're introducing a whole new attitude.
    Another thing, guys never call. It's like they have some weird phobia of telephones, or maybe of conversations in general. That's why we analyze things they say sometimes. They barely say anything so we have to drag whatever we can out of every word that comes out of their mouths.
    I'll admit it, a lot of times we don't know what we want. However, guys are the ones that make us so confused. We'll find a perfect guy and everything will be going well, but then something always happens. They won't call for a week, or they'll say something like, "No sweetie, you're not fat; you're just...big boned!" Big mistake boys, big mistake.
    But in the end, what it all comes down to is this: men and women could not make it without one another. As much as guys complain about us, they wouldn't know what to do if we all disappeared one day and never came back. They would miss the way we're always understanding and comforting when they come to us complaining about things that their friends would tease them about. They would miss us when they need a hug after a hard day.
    Girls are the same way. We would miss the way they like protecting us, the way we feel safe when we're with them, and definitely the way they hold us when we cry. The world would be an incredibly unhappy place is nobody could have relationships.
    As much as both sexes complain endlessly about each other, life would be incredibly boring without love. Maybe we aren't supposed to understand each other. It works out better that way because that's how girls and guys bond (by complaining about that relationship that fell apart for no reason, or that person you saw but didn't have the courage to talk to). We can all relate to those circumstances.
    There are those few moments that make everything (all the tears, the confusion, the anger) worth it in the end. When the phone finally does ring, and it's that one person that you have been holding your breath waiting to talk with, a great feeling fills you; they say everything you hoped the would say, like "sorry I didn't call, I was out of town for a few days. Want to go see a movie?" How about the feeling you have the first time you realize that you're in love with someone and they tell you they feel the same way?
    It's really a love/hate situation. Sometimes guys really drive us insane, but we know we would be lost without them, just like they would be lost without us. Yes, guys need girls...but girls need guys too.