Only 6 and I'm Impatient

Is it a bad sign that someone applying for jobs to become an editor/writer, is sick of WRITING cover letters?

Because frankly, my dears, it's exhausting! I truly, honestly, full heatedly love all of the jobs I've applied for (6 total) -but putting your soul and experience on a platter is stressful.

The writing does come easily and it probably doesn't take me any longer than 30 minutes to whip one up -but because I'm such a perfectionist, I read it ten times and research the company, if I'm not familiar with them already. Doing so makes me really get my hopes up and if I don't hear back within 20 minutes of sending, I start to panic.

Sad, I know.

It's just when you want something so badly, when something is just as much part of you as your own DNA, when something feels so right to not be perfectly aligned with fate -the waiting game is unbearable.

I've only applied to a handful of jobs and I still have 37 days until my flight lands at JFK, but still, couldn't I just have one lead or two? Maybe three? Could I just have one reply to the e-mails and cover letters I've exhausted, ridiculed, criticized and worried myself sick over?

Maybe patience isn't my virtue, but when am I supposed to follow up? In a week? Two weeks? Are these job postings really job postings or have the positions been filled and HR is just doing what's required of them to be an EOA? Does my experience match up or line up or measure up to those of other applicants? How do I make my stand out in an e-mail when I can put my best face and personality in front of them? How can I explain to them how perfect I am without repeating the same sentence in 10 different varieties?

How do I just get that one little toe in the door to all of my tomorrows? How do you get through today when all you want is to be somewhere you're not? How do you apply for jobs at places you've never been to, but claim you could do it all? Even though you know you can, how can you prove it to them...through Gmail?

Ugh.

I know it will become easier in time, but for now, can we all just pray for ONE itty-bitty-teeney-weeney response?

37 Days 6 Applications

Alllll By Myselllllllfff

I've always had this unrealistic fear of being alone. Sure, just like every young woman (or maybe it's just me), I'm terrified of ending up living in my collection of shoes with a million cats and having really stringy, gross and greasy gray hair that topples over my books as I spend hours reading erotic romance novels.

Ahh. The thought alone makes me cringe and want to go to the gym or the salon.

While that fear is a little too unrealistic and far-fetched, being alone can come in many senses. Not having a passionate love life is one thing, but being without friends or family is a completely different subject.

I do live with my parents currently, so that void isn't missing -but the friend part is seriously lacking.

I knew graduating early would have its perks and disadvantages, but sitting at home night after night with only my overly-energetic pup, Suzie Lou to keep my warm and loved, really sucks.

I feel so out of the loop of what's going on in my friends' lives, and we are all making a great effort to stay in touch, but it's not the same as sharing a Nacho Basket at McAllister's or getting tipsy off $1 drafts at Flipside on Thursday.

God, I never thought I'd miss Boone.

I'm ready for this big move so I can make new friends and have new experiences full of adventure and intrigue -but part of me is terrified. What if I don't make friends? What if the bottom of my dreams and bank account falls out from underneath me? What if I have to move back home? What if I feel this lonely, alone and afraid forever?

Part of this lonely river I'm currently swimming in is teaching me a lesson. It's showing me how to stand on my own two feet without having physical or constant support from other people. Moving to NYC will only intensify this lesson, and I know more than anything, I need to know I can survive independently before I can ever depend on completely putting my trust in someone else. It's teaching me to save money, to make peace with alone and quiet time, and most importantly, to be secure in who I am, where I'm going and in the path it takes to connect the two.

This lesson is a difficult one, but one day, I'll look back and be thankful for the opportunity and growth.

But for now, I can listen to Celine Dion's "All By Myself" and miss my lovely friends in Boone while the snow falls silently and peacefully outside. Great, now I'm trapped. Ehh...

39 days
3 job applications

The Countdown Begins -40 Days

It hit me what I was asked to unpack several boxes of random books, and clean the men's & women's bathroom at the bookstore I work at in Asheville, N.C., that I really wasn't where I wanted to be.

I had dressed up for the day -which was nothing out of the norm for me. The other booksellers, I'm sure, looked at me like I was crazy when I came in with high-waisted skirts, and sometimes, heels to work an eight-hour shift.

As my manager looked at me and said, “I hope you brought different shoes,” –part of me winced in pain.

Here I was, a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 21-year-old who just graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. It’s not a prestigious school by any means, and is only known for it’s 3-time national championship in some division of football. I didn’t go for the name, I went for the price and because it was the only school I got into.

Standing in my Micahel Kohrs skirt I found in a blowout sale at the beach, high heels circa Target two years prior and a sweater that hugged me in all the right places, I knew I still had over a month before I would be where I belonged:

New York City.

Anyone who knows me, follows me on Twitter or Facebook or has had even one conversation with me knows my heart, soul and wallet (though, empty) belongs in Manhattan. There is no need for me to go into detail about why I love the city or why it's the place I feel like I belong and desire the most -especially when my journey will be chronicled through this silly blog I forgot I had.

While the economy is not exactly a picture-perfect illustration of what every unemployed person would like it to be -I still have hope. I know finding my dream job isn't going to be a walk in Central Park, but eventually (preferably before the end of April), I will have a job I actually enjoy and will pay my bills in New York.

Until then, I'm stuck in my hometown sleeping in my childhood bedroom complete with Little Mermaid sheets and two adoring parents who want to know about my every move, God bless them. They have lovingly opened me into their home until I'm ready to move, and a fantastic friend has offered her couch to me for a few weeks until I get settled in the city, when the time comes.

Being at home isn't torture, but it isn't exactly an amazing situation. Once you've been away at school for three plus years -coming home and having to answer phone calls about your location and be asked to clean up after yourself makes you realize why it's so important to move to your pad once you get that very expensive piece of paper that says you're qualified to be paid more money than someone without it.

The bookstore gig has been my biggest break so far. While it can be extremely boring at times, all of the people are interesting and nice, and the customers never fail to make me raise an eyebrow. A guy seriously came in asking for a book on pumpkin chucking once, and I saw a flashing neon sign above his head that read, "Lindsay Tigar, get the hell out of the South, right now!"

All in due time, I replied to myself and smiled to the customer and told him I wasn't familiar with a book with that specific topic. I would like to know if he ever found one, however.

I spent most of my time texting my friends in a quite obsessive amount, writing endleslly, worrying about the next stage in my life, cleaning my mess of a room, running at a gym I actually like, and yesterday, I officially started applying for jobs.

I've applied for two:

An online women's magazine/organization as a Web Editor

An online New York-based publication as a Web Assistant.

I'll keep you posted on both.

Also, most of my evenings and early mornings are dedicated to my only saving grace right now, ChickSpeak. This site has become what makes me get up in the morning and what keeps me going. I have a handful of new writers and oldies that are incredible, and I can only see the site becoming more successful from here. The founder has also become a dear friend of mine, and I'm so thankful for her guidance through all of my career freak-outs.

As I get through the next 40 days without (hopefully) losing my mind, I'll chronicle my thoughts on the economy, what it's like to be a job applicant, and make a drastic transition in your life -completely independent. I'm fully funding my move and new life in New York, hence why I'm working at a bookstore 40 hours a week and refusing to spend one dime.

And once I'm in New York, I'll keep you all posted on the continued job search and of course, apartment shopping. Yikes, and yay! :)

All in due time.

I dare to dream, and I'll chase the place I'm meant to be until it all falls into place.

40 days.

2 job applications.

Letting Go, but Not Forgetting: The Key to Getting Over Someone

In every relationship we experience, there are certain memories that remain long after the relationship has ended. What remains locked in the back of our minds are not the typical thoughts that come with every relationship: the first time you saw him, when he asked to be your boyfriend, etc, but the insignificant details of his presence in your life.

With one of the guys I dated, there is one moment I swear I’ll never forget -not because it was incredibly rare or out of the ordinary, but because it was the moment I knew I was falling in love with him, and that he had the ability to break my heart.

We went to see some band at an on-campus club via my photography pass from the newspaper I worked for (I almost got fired for that, by the way), and we spent the night dancing and talking and listening to a somewhat decent group of guys bang on drums and strum a guitar. I can’t say the music stayed with me, but his touch did.

He wasn’t fresh or inappropriate, but he couldn’t keep his hands off of me. He wasn’t overly sexual and I didn’t feel uncomfortable, but I realized for the first time he was just as into me as I was into him. I sighed a sigh of relief at the time, and sank into his arms as we took silly pictures and laughed as nothing particularly, just at the happiness that came of us being together.

And then, the last song came on, and I was prepared to dance again, when he turned me around, wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. It wasn’t the best kiss we ever had, and it wasn’t the last, but when his lips touched mine, that entire room became oblivious.

There was no band playing, there were no drunken hippies dancing awkwardly next to us or people stepping on my heels. The lights weren’t shining down on us, the room wasn’t damp from sweat and body heat -nothing else was in that room but him.

After what seemed like an hour of kissing, but probably was just a few seconds, I opened my eyes and looked at him, and we were both quiet but saying more with a single stare then we probably said to one another the time we dated. I still get chill bumps thinking about it right now.

While we had lots of good memories together and fun, passion, romance and sweet nothings I of course will never forget -above all other things, he opened me up. He stopped the rest of the world around me -the chaos, the busy schedules, the go-getter girl I am, the constant worrying about tests and GPAs and internships, and he made me relax.

He gave me a center, a peace of mind and a security that no one ever has. He wasn’t the first guy that wanted to take care of me or call me his but he was the first (and only, so far) that I allowed to.

Before this certain guy, I had this huge wall up against guys. I credit it to my past, my own insecurities and my fear of being forever damaged, but I was the girl who was not going to let a guy in until I knew for certain he wouldn’t disappoint me. I was confident that when I met someone that could be something and my heart finally felt that “thing” I was looking for -I would allow my wall to crumble.

I was certain it would fall to the ground easily and the struggle wouldn’t be difficult because I would trust whoever it was I was letting in.

So, down came my wall after that kiss in the middle of the dance floor. Without trouble, without a bulldozer, without a swinging ball or army of ten million men -in one kiss, my wall was down and I became exposed to him.

While that kiss seemed to be the promise of a powerful and passionate relationship, the fates had something different in mind. Needless to say, we broke up long before anything had time to flourish.

That memory, along with a several more from every single relationship, fling, encounter or date I’ve ever had, could be hurtful. That memory could remind me of what I had, what slipped away, what never was, what could have been or what never will be.

It could remind me of my shortcomings, my uncertainty about my future in relationships, my fear of not finding the one or make me angry that I never got what I thought I would from that man.

But instead, that memory just makes me smile. It makes me remember a time in my life that was brilliant and good and I was so full of butterflies I thought I could fly to the top of the mountain I lived on. It reminds me that my heart may have been broken by his sudden absence, but that my heart still has the capability to feel such incredible things.

Letting go of someone you cared about or moving on from a relationship that never was or lasted longer than it should have -is difficult. You can feel your heart physically hurting, your stomach feels queasy and sleep is something that’s hard to come by.

You can burn pictures, block him on Facebook, make crude remarks about his new love interest (and yes, he will find one), and analyze every single choice you made with him trying to figure out what went wrong. You can write him letters you’ll never send, call your friends at 3 a.m. crying and questioning and blame yourself, him, his mother, your mother and your best friend that your love affair is over.

You can promise to never say his name ever again and play it cool when you see him randomly, while secretly wondering if the encounters were serendipitous or planned. You can try to make yourself stop thinking about about everything that included him, or you could let go without forgetting.

Just because this person isn’t part of your life anymore, doesn’t mean that his time in your life wasn’t precious or important. Every single individual that walks into your life, regardless if they stay a day, seven weeks or three years -has a purpose. The imprints they leave on your heart and mind are ones that were necessary for you to be who you are today.

Without their coming, and believe it or not, their going, you wouldn’t be exactly where you need to be. Each relationship teaches you something and each heartbreak only makes you stronger and better prepared for the next great love that comes your way.

So hold onto those happy moments. Remember when the world stopped moving, when he kissed your forehead and you thought you could cry out of pure bliss or when your heart was so full of indescribable love that you thought it could burst at any second.

Remembering will not be painful after a while, and those thoughts will one day bring a smile to your face and you can wish him well with sincerity. And when you pass him for whatever reason and at whatever time, you won’t just look at him thinking about the past, but silently thanking him for what he brought to your life -even if it was just one little kiss that turned your whole world upside down.

Lindsay Tigar is the Editor-at-Large for ChickSpeak, has held various magazine internships including Cosmopolitan, runs every day to relieve stress and hopes to inspire millions of women through her writing one day.

http://chickspeak.com/blog/2009/06/24/letting-go-but-not-forgetting-the-key-of-getting-over-someone/

He Needs Space...How Much Do You Give Him?

Between yesterday and tomorrow, between where we want to be and where we are, between the spot where he used to lay and where you lay, and between the melt-your-heart moments and the bitterness that only seems to get thicker.

In life, there is always space.

While sometimes a little leeway creates opportunity for growth, when the one you want to be closer to more than any single being on the planet utters the words “I need some space,” all you want to do is get a little closer and cling to the bond you desperately want to have.

Relationships are difficult to navigate and they never seem to stay on the same path, but rather twist and turn -often going down gravel and dead end roads. While we can’t always hold onto the steering wheel and predict the bumps ahead, as confident and savvy women, we can learn to brace ourselves and always keep our seat-belts on -just in case it all comes crashing down.

When your guy asks for space, he may be doing it for a variety of reasons -and not all of the signs point straight to the end of a relationship. Sometimes, he means exactly what he says: he just needs some wiggle room to figure out life on his own or maybe you need to move your elbows and figure out what you need too.

So before jumping to conclusions and pushing him farther away than he wants to go, try taking a step back and asking yourself a few questions about your relationship:

Are either of you getting ready to make a huge change in your life?

When you have been with someone for month upon month or year upon year, there comes a breaking point -where you may think you want some distance…but maybe not because you’re tired of the person. Maybe for no other reason than you need to figure out how you can fit into each other’s future plans.

If you’re getting ready to hike to new heights and he’s swinging around revolving doors in buildings -he may be wondering where you’re going to fit into his life and vice versa. If he’s having trouble fitting your puzzle pieces together, it’s still a sign he wants to make it work.

Guys are encouraged to be individuals more often than women and while it’s sexist, they typically find better solutions when they are alone, while women usually seek out the advice of their best friend, their first cousin and their freshman year roommate before making a decision.

If tides are rolling, give him time to surf and make it to shore -just make sure he knows you’re riding the waves too and you’ll be a happy beach babe with or without his rescue.

Space Grace Period: A month

Have you been spending a ridiculous amount of time together?

His gym bag, socks, old smelly sneakers, electric razor and his toothbrush are draped around your apartment. You find his t-shirts and boxers mixed in with your whites and you are checking your wallet to see where the check for half of your rent is from him.

Sometimes being in love and thus spending lots of time together in couple-land can be a bit too much, even if you are the best of friends and enjoy one another’s company. If you’ve been spending a lot of time wrapped up in sheets and sharing ice cream on the couch and suddenly he says he needs some space…take him literally.

It’s normal to have a hard time putting our single self on the shelf as ladies, and the guys have the same problem. Sometimes they need time to be themselves and act however they want to, without their girlfriend (or anyone, really) hanging around them.

Give him some inches to grow and within a week, he’ll probably be missing your smile each morning and you’ll be back to being the couple all single people love to hate.

Space Grace Period: One to two weeks

Are your friends or his friends getting hitched or engaged?

There’s this insane trend that I’ve noticed on Facebook lately. Once someone gets engaged, within a week someone else gets engaged -and before I know it, I’ve written “congratulations” at least a dozen times…and ate about three half-gallons of ice cream in the process.

While women may feel a tad bit jealous when albums of our friends (or at least they were our friends once upon a time in the third grade, or something like that) looking happy and beautiful at their wedding, guys tend to have a different reaction.

They get a little freaked out.

Suddenly, all their buddies are saying “I do,” and instead of being an “I” their friends are a “we” and they can’t hang out as often as they used to. They may even see their mentors having children and something inside of them screams for it all to stop.

If your fella decides he needs some space, he may be realizing he’s either ready to get married and can’t believe it, or frankly, isn’t ready to be that committed…yet anyways. Give him room to clear his head and figure out what’s in the upcoming cards for him.

However, this time shouldn’t be spent with him dating other ladies or spreading his wings into other bedrooms, but spent thinking about what he wants. If he wants to break up instead of just giving one another some elbow room, he was never meant to be the one smiling next to you in wedding photos as you cut the cake -but rather the one you should cut out of your life indefinitely.

And remember, if he comes back saying he is the marriage type, just not right now -believe him and decide if you can wait a few more years before signing away forever and your maiden name on the dotted line.

Space Grace Period: One to two months

Did your relationship just take a huge step?

Regardless if it’s the slip of three very magical words, the first real fight or a tragedy you went through together -some events in life bring a couple closer…or farther apart.

If you relationship suddenly got serious or the two of you grew incredibly close seemingly overnight -your guy may be a bit worried. Once a guy opens up and lets a gal inside his heart, he tends to want to keep her safe and protected and if you were recently awarded the chance to walk through the pearly gates -he may be a little scared.

He also may be wondering if he’s ready for a serious relationship or if he can count on you to be there for him through anything that life may dish to him. Let him calm down and take time to think it out -usually if he’s taken one big step with you, he’ll want to take the next one.

Space Grace Period: About a week

Lindsay Tigar is the Editor-at-Large for ChickSpeak and freelances for other sites. She loves her puppy Suzie, high heels in all shapes and sizes, and would vintage shop every single day if she could.

http://chickspeak.com/blog/2009/05/25/he-needs-spacehow-much-do-you-give-him/

Letting Go: The Heart of Relationships

Fragile, tender and as delicate as the first bloom in the middle of April.

Yet, passionate, full of all the fire in a single burning flame.

Constantly moving, growing, bleeding and hoping.

It will never be the same tomorrow as it is today, and it knows of the miles traveled yesterday. It forgives, it endures…and above all it lives and breathes.

Your heart is a precious commodity. It belongs to you –and solely you.

There will be moments that come your way, people who enter your life, and you my feel enticed to give this treasure away, but do so only with caution. You must decide if someone is worth sacrificing, or risking this beautiful element of you.

In fact, your heart is…at the heart of who you are. It holds everything near and dear to you –memories from the past, hopes for the future. It captures your best times, it feels the full force of your bad experiences. It contains your fears, and it speaks when you should feel afraid. It helps tell the butterflies when to start flying in your stomach, and it begs your head to just let you feel…and stop thinking, analyzing so much.

Your heart defines who you are, and allowing someone to enter this private zone –or even more intimately, offering them to hold a piece of it in their hands –is absolutely petrifying.

Part of falling in love, and thus implementing your heart into the swing of a relationship, or courtship is being vulnerable. And vulnerability, like other scary things in life –takes courage and involves risk.

This elusive vulnerability is dangerous territory to tread on and the ice can break at any moment –because being vulnerable allows strings at the heart to be pulled away from their secure location deep inside you…and permits them to attach to someone else.

And that someone else could and could not handle them with care.

Jane Collingwood from PsychCentral.com spoke about trust and vulnerability in relationships, and concluded that relationships require a level of vulnerability, attachment and commitment to prosper over long periods.

She stated, “This expression of love puts into practice the key elements of a secure partnership: consistency, attunement to the other, and availability when needed.”

While Collingwood makes perfect sense and sounds very logical –love, or the process of falling into the realm love isn’t consistent, there isn’t always a promise of commitment, or dependence.

That’s why being vulnerable, is in fact, so terrifying.

However ridiculously petrified a woman might be when spending quality time, endless dates, nights of laughter and romance –she must allow herself to be vulnerable with her heart.

She shouldn’t give it away, put it up for rent, or present it on a shiny platter, but she should take a chance allowing it to feel.

Feel the tides of a relationship –the way you felt when he first kissed you, the way he surprised you for no reason, or showed you how he thought of you at an unexpected moment.

And if it goes wrong and the ropes you threw out into the ocean of possibility were somehow tangled by the uncertain waves that love unquestionably presents –those ropes will come back to you, and you will have learned.

And you will feel that lesson. It may be bittersweet, confusing to the extreme, and make you demand the universe a reason why, but you will feel the immensity of that lesson. Your heart will speak for you.

The same heart that allowed itself to be vulnerable, to take an opportunity and maybe, or maybe not fall in love –and be caught, will beat for you.

It will feel a small break, a crack, a tear and it will beat faster and faster, and it may hurt to feel that pounding. But the constant drum is a healing method, a way of letting you know that you can be vulnerable again. You can take another chance…because no matter the course, the pattern of the changing tides, the heart can love again.

After all, it’s at the heart of you. And you, radiant, vibrant woman, forgive. You endure, and more than anything, you live, and you take that big breath in –knowing one day, being vulnerable won’t be so daunting for you…or your heart.

http://chickspeak.com/blog/2009/04/03/moving-on-the-heart-of-relationships/

Love in Four Years: Dating in College

It’s unmistakable, completely desirable and most of the time, entirely unattainable at a moment’s notice.

Love.

It’s something we all crave, dream about, indulge in, and try to find.

However, once we find something that possibly could lead to love –we back away at the first indication of imperfection.

Like all good things in life, college relationships require work. They certainly aren’t easy, and if we want the bright shining pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, we have to be willing to go through the rainstorm.

Disney, advertisements and romantic movies depict a type of love that’s typically smooth sailing right from the beginning –and falling in love happens at first sight.

This type of relationship, or love, is unrealistic and shouldn’t be something anyone strives for. The best type of relationship –that endures the test of time, doesn’t start off after one date, or one amazing kiss.

Falling in love during college should be gradual, natural and gently progressive. Both partners should be willing to realize and take note of complications that could (and mostly likely will!) develop.

Timing

One person is going one way, the other is going another direction –and ultimately they just want to end up in the same place, at the same time. But it’s just not that easy sometimes.

When you least expect it, and possibly when you really don’t want something in your life –is the moment when a relationship, or mister wonderful comes knocking at your door.

In college; summer internships, studying abroad, extended vacations and being separated over lengthy breaks can make it difficult to feel in sync with your possible mate.

While you can’t control when someone walks into your life, you can handle the situation if he comes at an undesirable time.

Go ahead and test the relationship. Test the passion and chemistry that seems so perfect. See if the same feelings remain after a summer of phone calls and Facebook messages. Be patient and believe that what’s meant to be will find it’s way to you. Sure it’s a lot of extra work and you have to be willing to put yourself out on a limb, but in the end –it could be worth it.

Sincerity

Trust isn’t the simplest thing to develop. Either you give it too freely, or not easily enough. We’ve all been burned, hurt and disappointed. It’s easy to write off every love affair as a mistake and pretend it never happened –just because it caused you pain.

But then you don’t learn. Then you can’t shape your next relationships into something beautiful. You have to struggle before you can find peace and comfort in a relationship.

He may not be like every other guy you’ve dated and he might be. Regardless, everyone deserves a chance and an opportunity to prove themselves.

Developing a foundation of trust takes a while, and the slower you move, the more you get to know someone and you can figure out if they are worthy of your trust, attention, or possible love.

It’s Only Four-ish Years

While the new national average for duration in college is five years –historically most undergraduate students receive their degree in four.

That’s only eight semesters to meet, develop and enjoy a loving, lasting relationship. While it may seem like a long time, it’s not easy to find someone who wants the same things you want out of life.

Furthermore, if you’re lucky enough to meet someone and fall in love, what happens after college? What if you get a job offer in New York City and he’s offered somewhere overseas?

There are going to be logical and distance-perplexities that will arise in college relationships because ultimately, college is the starting line to the race of our lives. We start here, but where we go, is always up in the air.

Sacrifices may have to be made to make a relationship work, and those decisions aren’t always easy to make. Make sure to determine if this is something you’d like to see last long-term before you change any of your girl-on-the-go plans.

A man who is crazy about you –would never ask you to settle or hold back for him –but rather encourage you to chase your dreams…even if they lead you away from him.

Cha Cha Cha Changes

Inevitably, we all change as we go through different experiences, struggles, achievements and issues. Part of the beauty of life is realizing when change is in the forecast, and how to embrace it.

While change is mostly always good and teaches you to grow, it sometimes pushes people apart. While you’re changing and growing, so is your partner and those transformations may transform your relationship…and possibly even end it.

And really, that’s okay. Whatever is meant to be, will find its way to you –and if early changes in a relationship make you drift apart, he was never your one and only to begin with.

Keep Yourself

However much work a relationship, or a possible new partnership may require –it is always important to keep a grip on who you are, what you want and what you deserve.

If a relationship is more work than enjoyment, and more worry than wonder –don’t waste your time, and certainly don’t desecrate all the love you have to give.

Keep your eyes open to what you desire and remember the love we have for ourselves, and personal value we put on our heart is more important than any relationship with a man.

But, if he does seem worth it, and brings an abundance of joy and excitement, passion and security to your life –give him a shot, and be prepared to get your hands dirty from time to time.

Hard work does pay off in the end, after all.

http://chickspeak.com/blog/2008/03/31/college-relationships-love-in-four-years/