Falling in Love
When you’re little, you don’t know anything about fame, cults, men playing volleyball shirtless in jean shorts or really anything that can happen in Hollywood.
That’s why, when you see Top Gun for the first time, you think that’s what kissing is like. That iconic scene when Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis’ characters finally act upon their bottled up passion.
As an adult, thinking about that scene, you giggle. They make love very passionately, in a soft blue moonlight. Open mouth kissing, with tongues gently caressing each other’s mouths and lips. All as “Take My Breath Away,” by Berlin plays in the background. However, since I just re-watched this scene – you know for research and fact checking – it’s still crazy hot.
Hey, it’s a cliche for a reason.
Love hurts
I mean…heartache is real. The worst is when your mind is taken off of it for a moment, and when you remember, it’s like a punch in the gut. OUCH. Also when you fall out of the tree in front of your ex’s place while spying on him in a rom com also looks pretty painful.
You’ll find love when you stop looking.
It’s true. If a watched pot never boils (MORE CLICHES), then focusing all your energy on finding a partner ain’t gonna happen either. You don’t have to be THE COOL GIRL, but have a little faith that it what’s meant to be happen without you running interference.
Butterflies.
Butterflies are real and they are a great appetite suppressant, amiright?
Don’t be one of those people who says they’re giving up on dating this year. Dating is rarely black and white so don’t go all or nothing on this aspect of your life. Just make some New Year’s resolutions to do it better this year than last.
- Put YOU first.
- If you feeling like texting…just text.
- NO GAMES.
- Let old relationships go. For real this time.
- Don’t read into long response times between text messages. PEOPLE HAVE LIVES. Also, you don’t want to be with someone who is 1.) NEEDY 2.) Glued to their phone.
- Don’t deactivate your online dating profiles.
- DO be discerning about who you go out with from online dating sites/apps. You’re special. You don’t need to say yes to everyone.
- Make the first move.
I am easily won over with a mixtape.
While the more tangible mixtape of the 80s is relatively extinct, the concept behind it is alive and well. I’m referring to when you’re gifted a musical playlist by that special someone, filled with random pop-hits and – if you’re lucky – a promise that he’ll make love to you, like you want him to as this mix provides the soundtrack to your falling for one another. Better yet, for the communicatively challenged, the mixtape has been known to provide hints pertaining to your relationship; a sort of figurative progress report for your burgeoning young love.
I really didn’t mean to fall in love with my husband. Don’t get me wrong – I was looking for Mr. Right. I just didn’t think the random fling I had when I was 21 would be it.
It all began a couple of Thanksgivings ago while I was escaping my 9-5 job one weekend in Park City, Utah with my best friend Megan, when she informed me that 12 very cute and very single foreign men were renting the house directly across the street from hers. Since it was Turkey Day, we had the perfect excuse to knock on their door and get to know them. Within minutes, I began an intense eye- “love making” session with a dashing Australian guy named Paul.
The next night we decided to all go out. Since I was young and single, I did what any normal American girl would do – I made out with Paul on the dance floor until last call.
And then I went home with him.
Meeting someone new and having a good time together is a good thing! But is it possible to fall in love too fast?
I love David Bowie. Love love love him. I also love Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey (of The Who), and Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp). Basically, I love musicians. They’re my weakness. I always thought someone should combine a dating website with a music venue website so you can peruse which musicians are single and looking after the show.
And finally, I have a somewhat valid excuse for my love of rock stars: science!
Business Insider wrote about a study done at the University of Sussex that had women evaluating musicians and how it related to their overall attractiveness.
Researchers gathered nearly 1,500, average age 28, who weren’t breastfeeding or on any kind of hormonal contraception.
They were then asked whether they would “prefer the composer of one simple melody, or a second more complex piece.” Then, they were asked if they would “prefer the composer as a short-term sexual partner, or a longer-term partner in a committed relationship.”
The results?
My name is Rebecca and I am a crushaholic.
Iʼm addicted to having crushes on boys. Addicted to that feeling that you get when you meet someone who could be the one. I have had a crush on almost every male that I have ever met, even if only for a hour. In that hour, I picture us: holding hands, kissing, laughing, meeting my family, our wedding and, in some cases, our eventual demise. I canʼt help it. Itʼs given me a lot of heartache. A LOT of fucking heartache and, even when I think Iʼve learned my lesson, another cute boy walks into my life and my heart opens and I canʼt stop. Itʼs painful for me. God knows itʼs painful for my friends who have to hear me go on endlessly, analyzing every conversation, every joke, every text, every Facebook like, because as a professor once creepily whispered in class, “everything means something.”
I canʼt give up having crushes because that would mean that I am going to die alone. While that is probably true, Iʼm not quite ready to admit that defeat yet. The thing is, I can remember them all. Each boy, man, fella and sloppy drunk. I loved them all. I really did. But like all addictions, nothing quite compares with your first.
Fires also keep people warm so, you know, you’ve got options.
With much of the country experiencing freezing temperatures, it’s nice to think about something warm. And according to a new study, getting this warm-all-over feeling could be as easy as thinking of someone you love. Is it possible that love makes everybody feel this way? This article at NPR’s health blog explains the findings.
In almost every writing workshop I’ve ever been in, a decent amount of time is spent dissecting the last paragraph of every essay. The ending shouldn’t be too tidy, or “wrapped in a bow” as one writer I know would say. This means there should be room for growth and questions at the end of an essay. The story might be done on paper, but your life continues on beyond that. An appropriately open final paragraph is a way to acknowledge that fact.
Fairytales have a different agenda. They don’t follow the rules of the essay. Fairytales are lovely stories with colorful characters and a bit of adventure, and they all drive home the same point at the end: the prince and the princess live happily ever after. That’s it. We don’t hear from them again and are left to assume that those two crazy kids are living a life of bliss. We’re meant to accept it and move on.
In real life, the ending of any good love story should be to live happily ever after with whomever it is you hope to spend “ever after” with. Fairytales insist this lifestyle is possible, and I’m sure it is—but I also think it’s more complicated than a single sentence could ever possibly convey.