Unapologetic

Wow, has it really been six months since I last posted a blog entry? School and work have seriously consumed far too much of my free time. I've been meaning to blog for some time now and this entry popped into my mind when I should be doing important things like sleeping. But oh well, there's always time for that later.

I'll start this blog by taking a quote from Popeye...you know, the sailor man. He said: "I yam what I yam" or in my case, I am who I am. This has never been more apparent to me than over the past few years and has really been been reinforced of late. I truly believe that over the past several years, with age I have been able to develop a greater sense of personal identity. I know who I am, what I like and I am comfortable with the fact that it may not always be the norm.

Reading that last bit over sounds a bit bad. So let me try to explain. This past Friday, I went with a co-worker and her friend to a concert in Los Angeles to see Sara Bareilles. And sure, there were guys at this concert (in fact, more than I had expected) but undoubtedly, many were probably dragged alongside their girlfriends. Me, I volunteered to go because I like Sara. I enjoy her music, think she has an amazing voice and as I found out, is a pretty damn entertaining performer. Sure, it's not the norm, but that's me. That's who I am. I'm the guy who you're just as likely to find at the Kelly Clarkson concert as you are to find at Kroq's Acoustic Christmas. The scope of my tastes are broad and that is something I take a great deal of pride in. Diversity is important to have in all aspects of your life. It's what helps us interact with a wide range of people, which is especially important as our society becomes more and more reliant upon social media and less on face to face interaction.

Looking back on my last serious relationship, in what now seems like an eternity ago, I realize how much I have grown as a person. I knew what I wanted and most importantly I knew what I didn't want. Far too many people in this world settle for "good enough" and I promised myself I would never do that. I don't want "good enough" I want what makes me happy, no matter who likes or dislikes it. This year, I got back into the dating game, something I had steadfastly avoided for the most part while I have been putting myself through college. After an awful and bizarre date with a girl I met a couple months back I had another realization. I won't ever pretend to be someone I'm not. I care about people's well being and I am not an asshole. I'm simply getting too old to pretend I care about getting drunk and dancing at a bar or club. Those just aren't me. To pull a quote from my favorite show, How I Met Your Mother, "I suck at dating." I'm much better in a relationship, in the comfortable situation without all the bullshit. I don't want to play games and frankly, I don't even really understand them. Why do I have to wait 3 days to call a woman? That's not how I operate.

So here's my plan. I'm going to continue being me. No apologies, no regrets. Just be awesome. I'll be that guy who asks questions you don't ask on dates. Who talks about the things you don't talk about. The guy who calls in 1 or 2 days, not because I'm desperate, but because I like the person. And if you like someone, why do you have to play a game? Why can't you just be who you are? That's all I want to do, I want to be me. Yes, I will keep listening to pop music and if I can find a friend to go with me, I will keep going to pop concerts. (For the record, I would go see 2pac if he was still alive, my tastes extend much further than pop music alone).

To steal one more line (yes, I like lines that other people have used, they are good lines) from the film Friends with Benefits (a RomCom? see above if you weren't listening) it went something like this: "Life is so short and if (dealing with hardships) has taught me anything, it's that you have to enjoy every moment. And if you meet someone special, do everything possible to make sure that they don't get away."

Here's to no apologies and holding out hope that I meet a nice English girl.

Cheers

- B