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I can't get a date at UH. I'm starting to wonder just exactly what is wrong with me. Am I ugly compared to the other young vixens on campus? Am I stupid? Is my personality so hideous that people instantly hate me? What is the problem?

I have a mirror, so I can see for myself that ugliness isn't the problem. I may not be every man's cup of tea, but I think I would probably be appealing to some man somewhere. So where is he? Why doesn't this person exist at UH? Why are all the men on campus so incredibly disinterested in me? (Maybe they've read my columns.)

I like to think I'm not stupid; after all, I have managed to get into The Honors College. My personality certainly has its snags, but I'm more or less a friendly person, and I'm generally outgoing. I don't wear gobs of makeup or act fake. I like to have as much fun as anyone else my age, and I'm not averse to trying new things.

So, my eligible UH bachelors, why do you pass me up? My mother has her own pet theories to explain this phenomenon. First, she tells me, I'm too intimidating to guys my age. Actually, as short as I am, I'm about as intimidating as a gnat.

Secondly, she says I don't flirt well. Perhaps that's true. If flirting means hunting men down as if they were deer, cornering them and brandishing my long, fluttering eyelashes at them, I guess I don't flirt well. Stalking men like human prey isn't my bag.

I think my problem is due, in large part, to the way our campus is set up. UH is primarily a commuter school. That means once a person is on campus, he/she goes to class and then immediately leaves, probably for a job, as I am forced to do. My schedule doesn't allow for the wonderful world of socializing.

I'd like to meet anyone who has successfully met someone in a class. You must be a fascinating, terribly savvy individual. Share your secrets with me, please.

My father has his own theory which states, in part, that men have an overwhelming fear of being rejected. Don't we all? I think that's just an excuse for being lazy. So, I guess I can be lazy too. I just give up.

I do date people I meet elsewhere who, strangely enough, tend to be older men. Maybe my parents' theories are correct. I'd like to think, though, that UH men aren't as oblivious as they appear to be. Maybe they are shy; maybe they really do have that fabled fear of rejection that I've heard about, ad nauseam.

If there are any other females out there experiencing what I am, please write to me and share your experiences. I'm in desperate need of someone to commiserate with. If there are any men who have a similar problem, maybe we could all get together and do something about this problem that only I seem to have. Or maybe I could continue to date old men.

Either way, I'll go about my life as happily as I always have. Excuse me for wondering out loud.