A History of Dating: Part Two

 

Then Came Love

A few weeks after Lee, I left the bad boys behind and started dating Randall. He was intelligent, funny, a little shy, and incredibly talented on the ball field or with an instrument in his hand. He was my best friend, confidant and the first boy I ever loved. For three and a half years, we had a pretty solid relationship. He showed me what it meant to love someone else and the security that comes from having someone in your corner. We adored each other and I was perfectly content on the idea of spending the rest of my life with him. One of the things that I appreciated about our relationship was the support we gave each other to explore our interests. Unfortunately, we (or maybe just me) got so good at exploring independently of each other that we ended up disconnected and unable to find our way back. Randall wanted to build a life in our hometown and I wanted to get out and see the world. Our relationship quickly became a battle over him being upset that I never seemed to have time for him and my hounding him to apply for college. After two months of constant fighting, I called it quits on our relationship while on vacation in Hawaii… over email (definitely not my finest hour). I learned that no matter how great they are, some relationships are just not meant to last forever. I am so incredibly thankful for having had him in my life for that time. It was brutal losing my best friend and his family but in the end it was the best decision for both of us. I remain fond of my time with him because there is just something special about your first love.

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For the next few years, I focused on school and things I was passionate about. I discovered that you could hang out with boys you liked without actually being their girlfriend; after years of having a boyfriend that seemed like an appealing option to me. During the fall of my junior year of college, I met Tony Harris and he halted my “love them and leave them” approach when he asked me to go to the homecoming dance. I was not so sure about him in the beginning because I was very busy living my life but he was persistent throughout the week of homecoming and by the end of it, we were dating. Tony seemed to engulf me with his charming, life of the party personality. He was intelligent, driven and quite sweet to me. There was something about him that put me at ease and made me nervous all at the same time. It was not long before my days started and ended with him by my side. I just wanted to open up my whole heart to him but I had been planning to spend the spring semester in Washington, DC so we agreed to enjoy our time together and not to get too invested in a relationship. Unfortunately, my heart did not get on board with the plan. After a great semester together, I struggled when our relationship faded away as I left for the city.

When I returned from DC, I realized that my feelings for Tony had remained the same but he was living up his college years so we agreed that we would just be friends. Throughout my senior year, Tony and I continued to spend a lot of time together. The problem with two people who care about each other trying to be just friends is that you never quite have clear boundaries. And the problem for me being friends with someone I liked was that there were other girls, lots of other girls that cycled through. It began to feel like I was the girl waiting in the wings hoping that one day he would wake up, realize how stellar I was and choose me. Sometimes the person that you love and want to be with just does not reciprocate those feelings. After two semesters of what seemed like a roller coaster, I got off of the ride.

Stay tuned for part three!
 
Click here to read part one.

A History of Dating: Part One

Source: forum.xcitefun.net via Jessica on Pinterest

First Came Boys

I was pretty much crazy about boys for the minute that I noticed them in preschool. One particular boy caught my attention on the playground and the next thing I knew I was getting a talking to from my Momma about how it was not appropriate to kiss boys at school.  My first “boyfriend” was a family friend named Ryan who proposed to me with a ring out of the bubble gum machine in kindergarten. 

In 4^th grade, I discovered how to flirt and used it on my first crush, Matthew Allen. My success in flirting with Matthew led to elementary years that were occupied with many of crushes, long phone calls about nothing at all, and perfecting my skills in penning a love note.

By the 6^th grade, I had fully developed (girls, you know what I mean) and began to catch the attention of older boys which is the time period of dating that I call “the older the better”. My daddy was coaching my older brother’s baseball team and that created the ideal opportunity for my dating life. Boy, did I go through them.  I had my first kiss with a boy named Justin behind the concession stand at the ballpark. I know, I was way too young to be kissing but this is what happens when you are going with older boys.

In 7^th grade, I won the attention of a popular boy named Russell (who is now like a brother so it seems gross) and a whole group of girls who tried to beat me up daily because he liked me instead of them. I learned how cruel other girls could be and how much I liked being with someone who was protective of me, even though I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Clearly. Russell punched Chris for commenting on my behind. He got suspended and I got to go to the end of the year dance with his best friend instead.

In middle school, I discovered the bad boys. I was the ultimate good girl so, naturally, they were the perfect fit for me. I started going with Chris (yep, the same one Russell punched) who was surprisingly amazing to me but the allure of the bad boy had set in and I boyfriend hopped until I settled on Lee.  Daddy loathed Lee and forbid me to go out with him so, of course, I rebelled and experience my first bad relationship. Lee and I went out for six long months. In the beginning, everything was great (as it always is) and then it turned into a jealous, controlling mess. I began to lie to my friends and family to be able to see him and tried to paint the picture of a great relationship. In the end, I became a desperate, self-conscious, unhappy mess until Lee finally broke up with me after I hung up the phone on him one night during an argument.  Somewhere around making myself throw up my dinner and crying myself to sleep, I got myself together and vowed to never let anyone control my life again.

And then came love...

a few of my favorite things

{Image Courtesy: Lyla & Blue}

Pecorino Romano Cheese

Triangle Yoga Pose

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These Dresses

Drive In Movies

Portrait of a Leading Lady: Angie

If you have been reading my blog or follow me on twitter, you have probably noticed my unwavering support for Angie, aka Angie Away. Angie is currently on a pit-stop in our hometown from her travels which gives me the chance to properly welcome her home as my next Portrait of a Leading Lady.

Angie and I met my junior of high school (her senior year) when we both made the varsity cheerleading squad. Neither Ang or myself had ever cheered before so we both just jumped in, as we do, and became fast friends. The sport became our bond together as we learned the ropes, roomed together at Cheer Camp, spotted each other during practice, and spent many of nights at sleepovers. Cheerleading united us but our love for travel and doing the unexpected has made us life long friends.

Angie and I reunite each year during Christmas for the Annual Cheerleader Dinner but over the years we have had our own adventures along the way. Soon after she graduated from college, we flew off to Hawaii for a week of hiking, sun bathing, chatting, seafood, papaya, and even a helicopter ride. A few years ago, I visited Angie in NYC. We stayed out until wee early hours of the morning, had a picnic in Central Park, saw Wicked, ate amazing food, and laid in bed watching Pride and Prejudice.

Even though we have a friendship spanning almost 12 years now, I still feel like we are those eager young women taking on the world. We might be a little older but we still have sleepovers, spot each other and cheer one another as we go through the adventures of life.

A year ago, Angie quit her fabulous job in NYC and set out to see the world, literally. She has visited all 7 continents, been to churches around the world, made new friends, almost got eaten by a shark, and experienced places some of us only dream of visiting. I could not be prouder of my friend because she is living exactly the life she wants to be living - that takes gumption.

I am pleased to introduce you to Angie!

Age:30

Occupation: Writer/Publicist
Location: Around the World

Describe yourself in one word: Go

What is your favorite book?  Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen

Favorite music? My iPod has everything from Kings of Leon to Taylor Swift, Bob Marley to Bach and any musical I can get my hands on.

What inspires you? Faith, hope & love

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? I am a devoted big sister.

What do you feel is the biggest misconception about you? At first glance, I seem very ambitious and success driven, but that's not the case at all. Any success I've had is a result of God's work in my life, and I take no credit!

What is the best advice you have received? Don't settle.

What would you tell your younger self? Don't date until you're 25. Wear sunscreen. Don't eat processed food. It gets better.

What do you love most about you? I love that I don't know where I'm going to end up.

Describe your idea of a perfect day: Beautiful weather on a gorgeous beach with people I love. And maybe some lobster.

What do you consider to be your greatest adventure, so far? I'm on it!

I feel most beautiful… when I get my wild hair blown out at the salon.

My favorite guilty pleasure is… Britney Spears.

Happiness is… being content with little or much.

I would change… my exercise habits.

Something people would be surprised to know about me is… I'm an introvert. An extroverted introvert.

I feel fearless when… I wake up. Fear is not an emotion I entertain (except in the case of cockroaches).

My Life… is a bit of an open book. You're welcome to read all about it: www.angieaway.com.