Girlfriends Have Kept Me Away!

Okay, so in my defense I've tried posting three times and each time I clicked "save," the page refreshed and everything I had written was lost. This time I'm typing this into Text Edit and copy/pasting it over here. Pffft.

The past few weeks have been super. Well, not including the crappy things that have happened, the past few weeks have been super. I've been really active, which is great, but my hyperactivity lead to my falling super-ill. I'm guessing I got sick because I wasn't sleeping much, and, like, every social gathering involved wine or martinis. Alcohol + no sleep = The Black Death.

Anyhoo, I feel almost 100% again, which is exciting enough for me to be happy. Aside from my health being in good form, my student group for the Obama campaign is taking shape nicely, which makes me very happy. On top of that, I'm doing well in my classes, which is always cause for celebration.

The best part, though, of the past few weeks is the fact that I'm slowly (and for the first time of my life) creating a close network of girlfriends. I can't properly explain to you how great it feels to have girlfriends that you can talk to about whatever is going on in your life. The feedback is great, and simply knowing that you're not alone in your conundrums is totally comforting.

I started a new book a few days ago, it's called Captivating and it's by John and Stasi Eldredge. In a nutshell it's about the fundamental desires that women have in their romantic relationships, and why women of all ages are partial to certain kinds of stories/behaviors. Captivating is the women's version of the men's book Wild at Heart, written by the same authors. After I finish Captivating I plan on reading Wild at Heart, because, heck, a little insight into the minds of men couldn't hurt.

I've done a lot of thinking lately about what romantic relationships mean to me, and what it is that I would define as my "ideal." What's startling is that the ideal image that I came up with is pretty different than what I assumed I wanted for the better part of my young-adult life. On the other side of all of that romantic-soul-searching I've come to realize that I'm more of a catch than I give myself credit for, and that I don't tend to hold my romantic-prospects to the same standards as myself. Scary thought! Needless to say, I intend on staying single for awhile. As long as it takes, really, for me to have a more clear understanding of what it is, exactly, that I'm looking for. I can't believe that a little over a year ago I was looking forward to being engaged.

On a deeper note, this past year has been such a time of growth and change for me. I feel as if I have a little better understanding of who I am and what I stand for (no doubt that too will change). Seriously, I feel like this past year has been a sort of emotional-adolescence that I'm only just coming out of. I like now-me much better than the me from a year ago, and that's always a good sign, right? Here's hoping that I'm still on the up-and-up...

Melissa