Webster’s Dictionary defines relationships as: emotional, physical, or mental involvements, associations, or connections. All of the parts of life are connected with many of these associations. You can safely say that the foundations of life are relationships. Human life is greatly influenced by these interactions with other humans. Before the time we enter the world, we have already built and established our first connections. As time progresses so does our knowledge of being in a relation , and with this time more of them build. Even people who barely associate with others are challenged every second by an affiliation, the one within themselves. They are the first and last things we have during existence. I asked a nurse of MCG, what her most important relationship in her life was. She replied, “The marriage with my husband. It is the strongest and closest I’ve ever been to anyone.” True, the link with our mate, for many of us, will be one the greatest experiences of our lives. However a great question is when is it appropriate to find and commit to this life changing experience? As we leave our childhood and progress to adolescence we grow a yearning for a mate to have a relation with. We pursue this with many failures. This is called dating. Between the ages of 12 and 14, middle school years, dating is used as a game. It’s all a race of who can get in a hookup first, who can have the most boyfriends/ girlfriends, and who breaks up with whom first. Between ages 16-21, we