And I'm flipping through the pages for a name to take my place.

Introversion. I’m sitting in my lab, headphones on and an old Fuel CD loud enough to drown out the undergrads seeking help from the TA. Nothing else in the world matters. I rather enjoy this feeling. One thing I’ve learned about myself is that when I get stressed, I don’t want much to do with anyone. A luxury of being single is that you can disappear for a week or month, and it’s no big deal. Sure, people notice, but they have their own agenda to worry about. You’re not that important, and consequently, disappearing creates little more than a few ripples in their lives. Someday, I won’t have the luxury of singality, and I might, God forbid, have a family. So what am I going to do then? I can’t exactly ignore their calls and do my own thing, can I? I suppose I may find a way to relax, but the confidence of knowing I can disappear for as long as I need will be gone.

Objectification. Whenever you snuff out a match flame, your senses continue to pick up on things. You feel that the heat is gone; you see that the light is out, and you smell the smoke that remains. Chances are I’ll be able to tell you a lot more in a year, but one thing I do know about smoke is that it’s full of chemicals oxidized and not. In many ways, smoke is just as chaotic and complex as the flame that produced it. As I always do when a flame goes out, I sit back and observe.

This time, I’ve noticed that over the past year, I've felt zero pull towards the attractive girls that meander around me (yes, even in the Clyde, there are plenty). Why not? I’m single, right? I’m male, am I not? In light of EG’s post about WAD. I have a few thoughts (and by "few," I mean about a million, but lucky for you, I'm only going to share one of them).

I’m full of insecurities like everyone else. “When people see me, the first thing they notice is that I’m not smart/tall/good looking enough. Such qualities MUST be what matter most.” Yes, I notice those same attributes in other people; I’m a scientist, how could I not observe and compare? Though, I’m confident that these qualities are of paramount importance when people look in at me, they play third fiddle when I look out at them. Double standards are a funny thing, so funny...