Love, What a Silly Game You Play.

This may seem very premature and very Carrie Bradshaw-esque of me to ask, but how do you know you found "The One"? Don't give me that, you just know crap. Like really, how do you know you know? Is there some sort of sign? Are there certain key words? I just don't know.

As a pronoun, by definition, "The One" is a person or thing of a number or kind indicated or understood. But if it were "indicated" or "understood", I would already know the answer to my question. According to Mr. Daniel Beddingfield, "The One" is apparently someone who makes your soul feel glad today and who's hand fits yours in a certain way. But let's be real, Daniel Beddingfield has basically been irrelevent since this song came out in 2002.

Plus, over the years my definition of "The One" has changed so much over the years, how the f would I know if I even met him?

When I was young and naive (aka in junior high), I thought I would find "The One" just like they did in the movies. I wanted to have an epic romance like Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd in Clueless minus the being step-siblings at some point part or Rachel Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr in She's All That Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. I was really into the whole opposites attract and fall in love cliche. But when you think about it, these kids were in high school. If these scenarios were real, these kids probably went off to college and met new people and ended up happily ever after with someone else. When I was in high school, I thought "The One" was anyone with a car so I wouldn't have to take the bus home.

In college, it was different. I was older and less naive. There was no one to stop me from doing whatever I wanted and I was legal. I had to go to class, but whatever, my days ended at noon. I wanted something less superficial than just some guy with a car. At that point, I wanted "The One" to be someone who was more mature, sophisticated, career-oriented, charming and if he had a car, cool. I wanted him to be Robin Thicke or, again, Paul Rudd (because let's face it, he is a dream boat), instead I got some a-hole who used me to get over his midlife crisis.

It took a while, but I got over it. When I turned 21, "The One" turned into whoever wanted to buy me a drink. Not that I ever set out on a neverending quest to find him, but that's when I stopped thinking "The One" existed. By that point, I didn't care. Quite frankly, I did not really want to be with anyone that I met (dun dun dun) forever. Most of the time, I didn't even care to be around anyone I met for more than two weekends. It cramped my style. I had a very laissez-fairre attitude when it came to finding love at that point since I didn't even really want to.

My life was great. There I was on the final stretch between adolescence and being a full-fledged grown up. College was almost over. The job hunt had just begun. All I wanted to be independent and I was. I loved being single--being able to enjoy time with my friends, not answering to anyone but me, focusing on what I wanted.

And then BAM!

Here I am. A year and then some into the best relationship I've ever had with the most amazing guy I've ever met. He makes me so mad and drives me crazy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. He makes me happier than I have ever been and I can only hope that I make him happier than  he has ever been. But dare I ask-- Is he IT? Is this one "The One"? I mean, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I would like to think so. There may or may not be a lot of wishful thinking (mainly on my part), but I don't know and I know that he doesn't know either.

Maybe none of us are supposed to know the true meaning of "The One". It's probably one of those lame things that is different to everyone and yadda, yadda, yadda.

To quote Miss Bradshaw:

When it comes to relationships, maybe we're all in glass houses, and shouldn't throw stones. Because you can never really know. Some people are settling down, some are settling and some people refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies...

...And I get that. I guess, whatever helps me sleep at night. :P

(This probably makes no sense whatsoever.)