"I Wasn't Told This Before College" #2: If You Love Them, Don't Let Them Go.

   Gifted kids are rarely ever adept at social norms. I am lucky in that I am pretty good at making friends (except for college, see "I Wasn't Told This Before College" #1"). But the one social cue I consistently failed at was flirting. Sure, I had crushes in elementary and middle school, but nothing ever happened. We'll, I wasn't allowed to do anything, but still. 

   Shortly after the beginning of my senior year of high school, an extracurricular jazz ensemble that I was a part of started up again. This was my second year in the ensemble, and this year, though there were two girls this year, 88% of the ensemble was male. I didn't mind. I even joked to my friends that "I had my pick".
   The guys were required to wear matching ties. 
   "You guys should wear bow ties. Because, you know, bow ties are cool? Doctor Who? Anyone?"
   All I got out of the joke were raised eyebrows and bemused expressions until...
   "Doctor Who?" 
   A tall skinny tenor sax player perked up across the room. We chatted about the show a bit, and then went our seperate ways.
   Looking back, I now realize that he totally pulled off the whole How I Met Your Mother three days rule, because it wasn't until Thursday morning (we met on Sunday) that I heard from him on Facebook. While running late the next day, I gave him my number so we could text, and that was a big deal. I felt (feel) in a way that you have to earn my number. 
   Anyways, we texted back and forth for a few weeks before he asked me to hang out (which ended up being dinner with his entire immediate family). A few weeks later, we agreed to go see his school's play because he came to see mine. We had dinner, and I found that, even though I didn't know him that well, it was so easy to talk and joke with him. That night, I recieved the best text ever..."do you have an interest in dating me?" 

   A lot of people at college were surprised when I told them I kept my high school boyfriend. No one had told me otherwise, not my parents, older siblings or anyone else. So why here?
  Then I realized what I could become: the girl who only hangs out with her boyfriend. In a way, it did happen because I had no other friends, but it wasn't for the reason some other people have. 
   As I have mentioned before, he kept me sane. We continued our relationship the way we did last year: meet up on the weekends, attend family gatherings, etc. Incidentally, he was taking a class at my university before school (did I mention he is still in high school?), so we got to see each other briefly before/after class.As I got over fears, made friends, and did a whole lot of self-reflection, I realized something. 
   If you truly love your significant other, why on Earth would you break up with them just because of college? 
Skype, text, call, email, Facebook. There are so many ways to keep in contact with people now via technology. Long-distance can be tough, but if you really love them, you will want to do whatever you can. 
  Who knows what will happen in the future? Not me. Not him. Not our parents. God knows, but he prefers to show rather than tell. 
  The future scares me in so many ways, and for so many reasons. But, you know what? I have him now, and now is the gift. That's why they call it the present. (I got that line from Kung Fu Panda. I don't know where it comes from. Sorry.) 
  Romantic movies say "if you love them, you'll let them go." That might work on the Academy, but it doesn't work on me. If you love them, make it work. 

MORAL OF THE STORY: if you love them, make it work because Facetime-ing while you watch TV and he plays Minecraft is a lot better than being alone because other people told you that it wouldn't work.