Oh, was that YOUR sweater?

Be honest. Each of us has found ourselves leaving items behind for our secret admirer. No one is willing to admit it, but everyone does it. It's the classic I-need-an-excuse-to-talk-to-you-so-I'm-going-to-leave-behind-my-sweater-so-that-you-can-bring-it-back-to-me-and-then-we-can-talk line that everyone has pulled at least once in their lifetime.

So, why do we do it?

Isn't it just simple attraction/attention methodology? You want to get the other person's attention, so you'll do anything to get in their way. For some, this isn't a really big deal, because they'd love to smell your sweater. In fact, girls seem to have a higher propensity for wearing the clothes of the guy that they are attracted to, just so they can smell him. Fortunately, the guys can't usually wear the girl's clothes, so it doesn't seem to be such a big issue.

And, yes, the smelling happens. No one is willing to admit it, but it happens and you're probably trying to think of a way to deny it, even as you read this.

What I find interesting about this whole scenario is the fact that some people are just super oblivious to the whole thing happening - mainly the guys. The girl flirts, he doesn't notice. She leaves behind her sweater, he has a friend take it back. She leaves him a note, he writes another girl's number on it. They just don't get it. I don't blame them, because I've been known to be just as oblivious. Our mothers keep hoping we'll grow out of it, but I don't see much hope of that happening as well.

How do we break this endless cycle of oblivious, attention-seeking behavior? I'm not sure that there is a way. It starts when we're really young with taking 30,000 pictures of us, and continues on through puberty, when they get their own camera phone. I say it's all downhill from here.

Unless, of course, you're just naturally good at getting someone to pay attention to you. And then, you struggle for the rest of your life trying to find a way to get away from people of the opposite sex. But, for the majority of us, that's not the case. So, we'll continue to leave behind our sweaters, in an effort to engage the person that we like in a conversation that could change our lives.