Here's something to think about:

Relationships as a medium for the level of personal space we give to someone.

If you think about "personal space" like an onion, it makes sense. The greater a relationship we are in with someone, the more layers of the onion they can peel off.

For instance, (in American culture), you can hug someone of the opposite sex and they won't get pissed off, if you two are friends. You can kiss them on the cheek, if you are good friends. You can give them a kiss on the lips if you are "boyfriend/girlfriend" (English still doesn't have a good word for that, so I'll use Spanish). Also, depending on what kind of novios you are, you can do other things (kiss on the neck, "make out," sexification).

This, perhaps, is an answer to the question of why people think of relationships as a status, rather than a series of events (dates). For example, people might go out on dates, yet never have a "relationship." And, the opposite is also true. People can be novios, yet go out so infrequently as to seem like nothing is going on.

The point I'm trying to make with all of this is that I'm both "going out" and going out with someone. Haha, just in time for Valentine's Day? Well, two days off ain't bad.

幸せです。