You probably know of some adorable couple that has been together for 50+ years. They met when they were 19 and just knew they were right for each other and have never once wavered since. It’s a nice story, right?

Read My First Time In A Sex Shop

I bet you’d rather that was your personal story than this one:
You date the anti-social med student, the forgetful stoner, and the egotistical stockbroker. You have your heart broken a dozen times. You have countless “what is wrong with me?” moments in your life before finally, around 30, you meet The One.  This second one sounds like a mess, huh? But you know what…it’s healthy to make a mess.

Sometimes in my singledom I think of all the smart, sweet guys I walked away from in my high school and college years just because I thought, there must be something better. I look at my friends who have been in the same relationship for years and I think, that must be nice. Having someone who knows you through and through—all your neuroses, your family drama, your insecurities—and loves you.

I particularly have thoughts like these on first dates. Starting from scratch can be so disheartening that I think life would be so much easier if I’d just stayed with Dylan or Johnny or insert name of college sweetheart here.

At times like those, perhaps because it is the only thing I can do to keep myself from calling up Johnny or Dylan, I reason with myself. And maybe this reasoning isn’t so far off.