My friends refer to me as "An Old Guy Magnet," because no matter where I go or who I'm with, I seem to attract guys who are considerably older than I am.

Even when I was a senior in high school with a mouth full of braces, guys who were 10 years older than I was were asking me out.

I guess you could look at it as a curse or a blessing. Older men tend to be maturer, know what they want in life and are less likely to play games with you -- they usually just don't have the time. They usually won't care if you miss a day of shaving your legs, or if you don't always look like you do when walking down College Avenue, scantily clad in your stilettos.

But at the same time, dating someone significantly older can come with a lot of risks. A partner who is significantly older usually has more experience in life -- and in other aspects. This can be intimidating. You might feel as though you can never catch up to all the experience your significant other has.

But you can't change how old you are. You might not look or feel your age, but that's how old you are.

I would consider myself an idealist. In my mind, it really shouldn't matter how old your boyfriend or girlfriend is, or how old your parents are, or how old you are when you go to college. I would like to say that love is the only thing that really matters; that love is the only ingredient that a relationship needs to flourish, but then again -- in the real world -- I know it takes much more.

And it seems to matter most to the rest of the world. People in general, especially parents, are not as open to relationships where one person is significantly older than the other person.

For me, this was a difficult one, since I am extremely close with my parents. Having to choose between your family and your significantly older mate is not an easy call. And maybe it won't come to having to choose between the two, and in that case you're lucky.

But, unfortunately, in many cases it does. For me, it was a matter of making the decision that makes me happiest -- and that's him. But having to choose sucks.

Every acceptance is a case-by-case issue. It depends how the people around you were raised, or how open-minded they are. And even now-a-days, when it's becoming a more common thing -- look at Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher -- people still encounter criticism if a significant age gap exists in their relationship.

Maybe you are reading this thinking that you'll never have this problem because we're in college and everyone's between 18 and 22 years old, right?

But you never really know. Maybe next time you're sitting in the HUB, striking up a conversation with a tall, dark, handsome -- and slightly balding -- man, you'll get hooked, and before you know it you'll be the next "Old Guy Magnet."