Looking back on 2011, I've had my world turned upside down and back up again on more than one occasion. The troubling reality of it is that I shouldn't be surprised, because this past year was no different than the last five years. When January 1 came around, I promised myself that this year won't be like the last, and in some ways I'm right. People grow up, we learn from our mistakes and try not to make the same ones twice — or in some cases, four or five times (oops).

The problem when it comes to dating is that it's hard not to repeat the mistakes of the past. I may have been doing things differently, dating guys I normally would never have dated in the past, but was I really changing the way I did things, or just whom I did things with?

We change the way we look and act as we change the people we date. Some of us are even willing to change who we are to find love, and some of us choose to limit the people we meet. This is because we are not willing let go of that perception of "love at first sight" ('sight' being the key word).

We live in an age when there are so many opportunities to meet new people. There are online dating sites, speed dating and singles mixers. However, people are afraid to test these methods out, especially online dating. We fear that this is the last resort, the ultimate sign of desperation, the walk of shame in dating failure.

When people hear the words "online dating" they associate it with desperation because people who resort to online dating can't meet guys or girls on their own. There is a guy at work who always tells me it's hard for him to find girls because he works so much, so I suggested online dating. He then responded, "I still have a social life and I'm not desperate." Not only that, other people at work told me he is a great guy and he doesn't need to do that, he can meet girls at bars. Yes, people can meet their girlfriends or boyfriends at bars, but trust me, as you get older, the less you find people you are interested in having a serious relationship with at places like that. It's the stigma that is associated with online dating that makes people skeptical about using it; it has nothing to do with not having a social life.

To me, people who use online dating or speed dating are some of the smartest people, and instead of using the word 'desperate,' I would say they are people who know what they want and aren't afraid to go after it. There are several reasons why people should consider using online dating.

First, it wastes less time. Just think how many hours you might spend to get ready to go out with the girls and try to meet guys. Then, you end up going out for about four to six hours and maybe get one phone number. That is potentially eight entire hours spent trying to meet one person. The same goes for guys. It might not take you as long to get ready, but you have to spend a lot more time talking to a girl before she gives you a number, and about half of you won't even get that. Depending what websites you use, you could spend an hour or two making a profile. That two hours you spent could have opened the door to numerous guys or girls and you never even had to get off your couch. People who have busy lives don't have all this time to go out and try to meet people. Online dating is perfect because it eliminates that and you just go straight to dating.

You get to go on dates with people you share interests with. Think of online dating as online shopping; you get to pick out the things you like and order them to your front door. Sometimes the clothes don't fit like you want them to and you might need to return them, but it saves you time from spending a day at the mall and trying to find a store with something you like. Not every person you meet on these sites is going to be the person for you, but this way you can choose from a wider variety and at least before you go on a date you will already know you have things in common, you just have to see if you click.

Something so easy shouldn't be something we try so hard to avoid. I think that 2012 should be dedicated to trying new things. This year, I'll be trying something new: online dating! Look for my reviews of two popular websites, Plenty of Fish and eHarmony, in the coming weeks. I might even look into speed dating as well.