About eight years ago, on the first full week of my Freshman Year at UMD (that's 2006, for those keeping score), I logged onto Facebook and started friending people, based on similar interests. One of these people was a young woman by the name of Raquel. Our first conversation was about Labor Day plans and PS2 games, so it was (obviously) nothing too serious. As time went on, we both developed feelings for each other, as these things sometimes go. She and I would have late-night chats about nothing, but it would be the highlight of my day. Sadly, as these things sometimes go, whenever we tried to act upon them (read: got the courage to say "hey, I think you're cute. Maybe we should go out"), we both were with other people.
As fate would have it, around the time that she and her boyfriend at the time were breaking up, I was also newly single. So, I laid it out there. I said I'd like to maybe get to know you better, outside of just
Family Guy randomness and video games. Months passed and we finally met at a Terps game. I looked like a walking rapper stereotype the first time she saw me, since I had on shades and a durag (that was halfway in style then. Don't judge me). It was more to mask the fact that I was nervous as all hell about trying to impress this girl who I'd been talking to practically for two years.
Things went smoothly, and we (after a few awkward kisses, a date that ended with us drinking at some party off-campus, and an eight-hour-long phone conversation), we began dating officially.
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| Us, circa 2008. |
And, even though there's been some road bumps along the way, I feel that they've made us stronger than before. This is especially true since she is someone who's made me
GRIT THOSE TEETH on occasion as well. So, Friday, on a whim (kind of, but not really), we drove to The Mall in Columbia and we purchased an engagement ring and made it official, for real, forever this time. Since we've never really been a "traditional" couple (I mean, we met through Facebook), we opted to go with a ring that was morganite. If you look up the meaning behind morganite, at least the crystal meaning or what have you, it pretty much relates ideally to us and our family (as we also have a three-year-old son, who is the light of both our worlds, even when he gets upset and calls us "bad").
It's been a ride, and I'm thankful that I've been able to take these first few laps with her. Now, to win the Daytona 500.
...wait, we're not doing the sports pun/analogy thing, right? Ah, well.
-Johnthan
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Author & Editor
Johnthan Speed is a self-professed "nerd." and writer, along with "junior market analyst" (he thinks). Prior to creating this site, he wrote for various sites and performed hip-hop music. As these sort of things tend to go, the older he got, the less he cared about "the music." So, he gave it up, opting to get back to his first love besides the Orioles: writing. Johnthan resides in Maryland with his fiancee, child(ren), and two cats, where he commutes about an hour (yay congestion) to work. Finally, no, Johnthan isn't writing posts on the company dime, unless he's at lunch.
nice post! =)
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