You remind me of me... I started dating my first girlfriend at 17 also. I was in college (freshman) and met her in November of that year. I had just finished my first quarter in school with a 4.0 after working hard. Met the girl, we hit it off pretty well. I wrote her a letter every day (this is in '81 - no internet). I'm kind of glad we didn't have the internet then or else we would have been chatting every day.

She was 60 miles away - I saw her on weekends - every weekend. I called her alot too and got into trouble with phone bills. My grades suffered immediately, of course.

One big thing to warn you about. If you guys do progress further and start having a sexual relationship - be VERY careful. That happened in my case and she ended up getting pregnant. Her parents pushed her to have an abortion (still hurts me to think about that). That kind of ruined our relationship - we kept dating but that hurdle hurt us quite a bit. A couple years later, things fell apart. I would have loved to have a life with her. I still miss her a little but it's been a very long time and I've moved on with life and all that.

Your first girlfriend is not your wife. Remember that. Give her space. Go on dates, but don't obsess. It can become highly addictive and if you can convince yourself that you don't have to see her of talk to her all the time - you'll be in a healthier state. Have fun - but don't let her control your life, nor you control her. A lot of stories are out there where young bf/gf act in an abusive manner "why didn't you call me?", "why did you talk to him?", "where were you at this time?" Don't act like that. Be gracious with your time together and let her go on the days you don't see her. Your life is important too - so make sure she is a "part" of your life and not your "whole life".

One key point here. Don't worry about kissing, and all that. Women appreciate talking as the #1 path to their heart. If you have good verbal skills - that's probably 90% of the relationship. Work on that first.