7 amusing comics show what dating looks like versus being in a serious relationship.

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This is how you know it could be the real thing.

Do you remember the first time you felt comfortable enough to fart in front of your significant other?

Sure, it's embarrassing at first. But isn't it a beautiful thing to get to that place where you're comfortable with each other? Where you can pass a little gas without running for the hills in utter embarrassment?

That's where these lovely comics by Sarah Andersen come in. Her own relationship inspired this delightful series of what a couple looks like from the beginning stages of a relationship to when it gets serious.

These seven comics perfectly capture what it feels like to go from a new, budding relationship to a long-term one:

1. Prepping.

Meeting up with your cutie? Well, in a long-term relationship those nervous butterflies vanish in favor of comfort. What's the point of getting all dressed up when you know they love you regardless? What this basically translates to is sweatpants all the time — forever and always.

Illustrations by Sarah Andersen for College Humor, featured with permission.

2. Cuddling.

As a general rule, cuddling is great, but lying next to another human being for hours at a time can have its own discomforts. I, for one, am guilty of this particular move:

3. Dining.

Dinner dates can be awkward in the beginning. Eating in front of someone when you're nervous is particularly nerve-racking. But don't worry. The more time you spend with someone, the more comfortable you'll get about stuffing your face.

4. Communication.

When you're constantly with someone, the two of you start to develop a language of your own. Over time, your communications with your partner might deteriorate into silly garble.

5. Honesty.

At the beginning of a relationship, it's hard to discuss things that are more personal, but around the one-year mark your inhibitions have a tendency to just straight-up vanish.

6. Physical intimacy.

Movies and magazines will have you feeling like you need to have some kind of highly seductive alter ego to keep a relationship going, but you'll eventually learn that this is totally unnecessary. Your seduction tactics might devolve from complex, Cosmo-magazine-inspired moves to a simpler, blunter method.

7. How you feel.

Infatuation might die out, but if you're in the right relationship, love shouldn't change. If you're with someone who's seen the nastiest, pukiest, slimiest version of yourself and they still love you and treat you right, you've found something special.

Romantic relationships are a funny thing.

Most people start out shy, watching what they eat and over-prepping for dates. You don't want to let on that you're human just yet.

These cute illustrations are fun, but they're also real. They show that once the relationship gets going, and you become more comfortable with each other — all bets are off (in a good way).

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship

Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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money

Identity

One man turned nursing home design on its head when he created this stunning facility

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Every night around 5:30 p.m., she stood up and told the staff at her Ohio nursing home that she needed to leave. When they asked why, she said she needed to go home to take care of her mother. Her mom, of course, had long since passed away.

Behavior like Norma's is quite common for older folks suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Walter, another man in the same assisted living facility, demanded breakfast from the staff every night around 7:30.

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Health

If you're grieving a loved one this holiday season, here's a gift you can give yourself

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.

Images courtesy of Kelly Cervantes

Kelly Cervantes wrote her way through grieving the loss of her daughter, Adelaide.

Kelly Cervantes begins the Introduction to her book with five words: "Grief sucks. It's also weird." It's a concise truth that anyone who has lost a loved one knows all too well.

Grief is a universal experience—none of us get through life without loss—but it's also unique to each person. Most of us are familiar with the popular "stages of grief" theory, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (along with guilt and a host of things) are less like sequential rungs on a ladder and more like pools you fall into at various times as you stumble your way through the grief process. Grief is not linear and it's not neat and tidy and it's not predictable.

Take it from someone who's been there. Kelly Cervantes lost her daughter, Adelaide, to epilepsy just shy of her 4th birthday. Using writing as a therapeutic tool to help her process Adelaide's medically complex life, death and everything that came after, Kelly created the book she wished she'd had as she was trying to navigate her own grieving process.

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grief

7 amusing comics show what dating looks like versus being in a serious relationship.

This is how you know it could be the real thing.

Do you remember the first time you felt comfortable enough to fart in front of your significant other?

These seven comics perfectly capture what it feels like to go from a new, budding relationship to a long-term one:

1. Prepping.

2. Cuddling.

3. Dining.

4. Communication.

5. Honesty.

6. Physical intimacy.

7. How you feel.

Romantic relationships are a funny thing.

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Confusion is common in Alzheimer's patients, but Makesh knew there had to be some way to minimize these conflicts.

Instead of rooms or units, each resident gets a "home" on a quiet little indoor street reminiscent of the neighborhoods many of them grew up in.

Instead of a boring panel ceiling, residents look up and see a digital sky, which grows dimmer late in the day to help keep their biological clocks in tune.

Throughout the day, nature sounds and fresh aromas like peppermint or citrus are piped in.

For Makesh, this isn't just about making patients comfortable, though. He wants to change how we think about the endgame of severe dementia.

Of course, we're a long way from a cure for Alzheimer's.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

Trameka Brown-Berry was looking over her 4th-grade son Jerome's homework when her jaw hit the floor.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

The assignment was real. In the year 2018. Unbelievable.

The shockingly offensive assignment deserved to be thrown in the trash. But young Jerome dutifully filled it out anyway.

"You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't."

1. You're going to have to get uncomfortable.

2. "Your black friend would like to say something to the racist lady, but doesn't want to appear to be that 'angry black man.'"

3. We are constantly monitoring our surroundings and adjusting our clothes, hair, speed, and speech to maintain white comfort.

4. "Your black friend wishes you'd play more than Beyoncé. There are more black performers than Beyoncé."

5. Speaking of which, performative blackness is really uncomfortable.

6. "Your black friend feels like a man without a country."

7. We would love it if we could stop talking about our anxiety and frustrations regarding racism. But right now, that's impossible.

The billionaire passed away on November 28 at the age of 99.

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.