Runaway Dater
Oh the Dating World…what an exciting yet frightening place; a place I chose to avoid for the past four years! My best friends actually refer to me as the “Runaway Dater.” Most people look at me in disbelief and are unable to understand why I have been content being single. However, I embrace my outlook on life: knowing that I don’t need a man to be happy. After my ex and I broke up, I decided it was time to focus on myself. I went to grad school, worked a full-time and part-time job and lived life with independence and freedom. I have grown so accustomed to being on my own that the thought of a relationship and making room for someone else in my life throws me into a panic (I’m not kidding.). I’m pretty sure that’s how the “Runaway Dater” term was born. I would meet a guy who seemed nice and accept his offer to take me out and well-before the end of the date I was already thinking of ways to escape and jump into my car, without being too obvious, in order to avoid the awkward “end of the night moment.” I’m convinced that I have perfected this skill (email me for lessons).
When I heard about Holidate, I had recently finished school and was at a pretty stable point in my life. Because I pride myself on being adventurous and spontaneous and I am a believer that when opportunity knocks you better answer, I decided, “Why the heck not?” Life constantly places us in random situations and we later discover the reason (if we’re lucky). Therefore, I eagerly boarded the plane to Seattle and never looked back.
Did I make the right decision or what?! Seattle brought me fun, relaxation, a completely new outlook on dating and four new friends. All four members of my Seattle clique taught me something about myself. Graeme’s nice-guy outlook was refreshing and reminded me that it’s important to embrace our childhood innocence and how it turns us into the people we’ve become. We both had 8:30pm bedtimes until we were well into High School so that was a pretty hilarious connection. Edgar taught me that it’s important to travel and stay connected to your roots. He often travels to other countries to visit his family; whereas, I only live a couple hours away and seem to have too many excuses not to make frequent visits. Bryan taught me that there are still guys out there who genuinely believe in the true sense of marriage and love and not only believe in it but hope to find a true life-long partner. I still keep in touch with all three guys and hope to remain friends.
Nicki gets her own paragraph. Nicki has truly become a friend-for-life and talking to her before, during, and after this experience prolonged the life lessons. We completely connected because of our confidence and no-nonsense approach with men. Before I even left Seattle we were already making plans for me to go back! We’re thinking summer-time 2010 (reunion?)!
Flying across the country may have been a drastic measure to refresh my spirit and outlook on men but it was well worth the trip. Not to mention, since there were about 15 people on the crew with me on my dates, it made it impossible to even think about escaping. It’s amazing how much more I can allow myself to get to know a guy when I’m not already thinking about how to leave. I still have the confidence to be single for as long as it takes to find someone “just right” for me but my eyes are open wider and I was restored the belief that being in a relationship with someone who cares for you is a pretty great situation. I hope to retire as the “Runaway Dater” and coin a new title as soon as possible. Stay tuned!
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