All The Single Ladies.

How do you know if you're setting your standards too high?
From experience, I can say that the longer you're single, the higher your expectations become. The more you observe (rather than experience), the more picky you get. In reality, it sucks for the single ladies because we're just screwing ourselves over; missing the good opportunities or simply shutting ourselves off to every guy.

My friend always asks me why I don't just date someone for kicks.
First of all, I don't believe in dating. Well, I don't believe in "dating" in terms of the real sense of the word. For example, there's a 95% chance I won't go on a simple date with someone I barely know. I'd date an acquaintance or friend that I've either grown to like, or have always had some subconscious interest in (further explanation later).
Second of all, if Jude Law is in your vicinity or a Jude Law-like guy, why would you waste your time dating someone who's only half a Jude Law or not even similar to Jude Law? Just because Jude Law doesn't like me, doesn't mean I have to lower my standards to Robert Pattinson.
Lastly, it's not my choice if guys aren't asking me out. Period!! However, I think I make it easier for guys to not ask me. Heehee..

Everyone talks about The Ladder, and I can say that girls really do have two distinct ladders: the Friend Ladder and the Potential Ladder. They're like worlds apart from each other.
It's not always the case that guys on the Friend Ladder will never have a chance, but it's rare. My sister is an exception. Her current boyfriend (I remember her saying a few years ago) was just her really good friend, and she said she would never in her life date him. And now...they may potentially tie the knot.
But unless you have always had that little subconscious (or conscious) part of you that has had an interest in an opposite-sex friend, then it wouldn't be as weird dating them. Whereas for my sister, I feel like she just woke up one day and saw James in a different light--jumping from the Friend Ladder to The One Ladder (maybe there are three ladders...).
Female friend-zoners probably set high standards, and will probably remain single for a longggg, long time....which is only us to blame.

Friend-zoned cues:
-Often times, guys will mistake the girls' comfortableness around them as "being themselves" because you guys "connect." Uh YEAH-- connect like best friends!
-Just because she talks about you a lot or hangs out with you a lot, doesn't mean she likes you. There are a lot of times when girls just admire/appreciate guys but it doesn't mean she's romantically interested.
-Obviously, the friend-zone words you don't want to hear like "brother," "father," etc.

*Girls are NOT leading you on! Well, some hoes are. But most of the time, we just really have you on our Friend Ladder, and the only explanation I can come up for that is that girls have different mindsets than guys. And that girls are complex and complicated as hell. Even I can't figure myself out.
This is all just my opinion (+ a few girls I know that agree), and you can probably categorize some of the introverted, quiet girls into this category and all the outgoing, flirtatious girls in another that I have not touched upon.

This school year, I've learned that the best explanation for everything is that males and females are fundamentally different in their every aspect.