I’m no relationship expert, but if there is one thing I know it’s that there is probably no greater feeling than falling in love. Your heart flutters when his name pops up on your phone. Laying next to him has to rival Snoop Dogg’s greatest high. And time seems to play dead when you’re not with him. Let’s face it, its hard not to lose ourselves in new relationships. All of our hope Does and dreams when we we’re single seem to be coming into fruition, and in giving into our passions we can’t help but try to rush them along. We want to prove to our men that we are 100 percent committed to them, and we want to be that faithful, catering girlfriend brothers love to brag about. But, in all this rushing and excitement, we might be doing too much to prove our loyalty and love.

Ladies, we need stop overextending our services so early in our relationships. I understand your boyfriend may have just learned that he needs to separate the coloreds from the whites when he does laundry, but that doesn’t mean you need to go out of your way to do it for him. And yes, he hasn’t had a decent, home-cooked meal since he saw his mama last Thanksgiving, but that does not call for you to have dinner waiting for him every, single night. Being in the honeymoon phase of your love, I can understand how such intense feelings may bring out your nurturing side. But believe me, there is no need to rush into playing house. You’re in the first quarter of the game so enjoy it. He doesn’t know how to do laundry? Make a date of it. Go to your local laundromat with both of your respective clothing items and teach him how to do his laundry while you do your own. You may not want him to see your granny panties so soon, but having him see them now is a much smaller risk than playing wife without the ring — or title.

I know, you think he’s the one. Your girlfriends think he’s the one. And you think he thinks your the one too. So logically he should prove it by having you meet his family, right? Girl, no. Demanding to meet your new boyfriend’s family is a sure-fire way to get on the express highway to breakup-ville. Although most men admit having their lady-love meet their mom is not a milestone in their lives, it doesn’t mean it’s your right to demand to be invited over to mommy dearest’s home.  Just as you are navigating these new waves you find yourself in, so is your boyfriend. Let him figure out when he is comfortable having you over for Sunday dinners and family get-togethers. Besides, shouldn’t you take the time to learn all the intricate details of your man’s life and character before his mother, aunties and everybody else in his family tree grills you about them?

Or let’s say Friday night is traditionally your girl’s night out and his time to go out with the boys, but you’ve been dying to see this new movie that’s out, and of course you want your boo to take you. You don’t care that you’ve seen him every evening this week, or that both of you already had individual plans — you want to go! Ma’am, please put on your best dress and head on out with your girlfriends. Its common and expected to want to be under your cheri amour all day, everyday, but you must respect that he is still his own person as are you. You have a new amazing addition to your life, but he wasn’t the missing piece to your puzzle. You were whole before he came, and if he leaves you’ll still be whole. Go out, have fun. Keep doing the things you were doing before he came along. Keep your identity as separate from his as possible. This will prevent you from tiring of him — and keep him from running for the hills.

Love is precious and when we find it we want to grasp on with both hands and never let go. But what is meant to be will be. Enjoy your new boyfriend, enjoy that new pep in your step, but refrain from jumping in to quick or asking him for what he may not be ready to give. Love is hard to find, but easy to lose.

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by Quierra Davis-Martin

Our generation has recently become obsessed with a new and exciting way of life. Facebook and Twitter! People use social networks for many different reasons. To connect with old friends, to express their deepest thoughts or to simply just feel important. Sure social networks can be fun and useful but things can sometimes turn awfully wrong in terms of how it an affect your work environment or your relationship.

Unfortunately I’ve watched Twitter and Facebook destroy so many friendships and relationships that it really saddens me. We all forget sometime that perception is everything. What you see as innocent may not translate that way to your boyfriend, girlfriend or boss. You also have people who love to gossip and who are patiently waiting for that opportunity to run and tell you all of the updates they’ve been seeing over the weekend. A friend of mine is on the verge of a break up right now because of this.

If you’re in a committed relationship, please post and tweet smartly. Before you post or tweet something, think about how your significant other would feel about it. Facebook and Twitter have already made it much harder on the gentlemen out there. This is why so many guys, especially with suspect pasts, delete their Facebook when they meet a woman they’d like to get serious with.

If you’re expressing your life problems and every move you make on social networks then people can and will start to use it against you. Women no longer need to snoop or go through their man’s phone like in the past. Having social networks makes it much easier to keep tabs on a guy.

You’d think because of this that men would be a little more selective in what they discuss on Facebook and Twitter. After a Friday night at the club and too much drinking is when men head to Twitter to talk about all the fine women and crazy things they’ve done that night. Even if everything written is completely innocent, it can still cause tension and unnecessary arguments in a relationship just based off of “perception.” If your close friends follow your man on Twitter or Facebook they will naturally look at everything with a raised eyebrow. The smallest mundane things will look like deceit to a close friend or family member when it’s actually nothing.

It is also important that when you first meet someone that you really like, not to exchange Facebook or Twitter information with them. This will ruin any good chance of a future. The other person will be watching you too closely and will perceive certain things in a manner probably bigger then what it actually is. Women will be tempted to browse through her date’s profile page, read comments and look for pictures with women. This is not a good idea when you’re first meeting a guy. It’s usually not a good idea to become Facebook and Twitter friends until you and that person are in an exclusive relationship.