I’m worried that something similar might happen when I return from college. Instead of feeling comfortable and relieved, I’ll feel unfamiliar and awkward, like I’m staying at a friend’s house for a week before I return to Boston. I’ve often heard sayings such as “home is where the heart is,” but how am I supposed to call this new place “home” without the proper time to love it? 

I have a mental checklist when I meet a guy. I check off the qualities that I look for in a potential man: a good sense of humor, a level head, a sense of kindness, a love of TV crime shows and a hatred...