Signing up for an 8:00 a.m. was a horrendous decision for my last semester of college. While my body hates me each and every time that alarm goes off at 7:30 am, taking personal finance has actually taught me many valuable lessons such as how to balance a checkbook, why debt sucks, and how to save for retirement. However, the professor is really just teaching us how to be adults and thrive financially once we’re in the big bad real world.
Last week she concluded class by asking how many of us had found our soulmate. Taken aback everyone looked around and chuckled until we discovered the one lone boy who had bravely raised his hand. We all applauded, genuinely happy for this person, yet completely baffled how they had even dated here at UVa. Our professor then gave us a look and in her serious voice informed us that we had approximately one month left to find our soulmate. She told us to “get busy”, for we can only ever find someone of our same caliber at college. “And don’t even think about dating at work! For office romances never work out!” Thank you professor for reminding us all just how single we all really are.
The intriguing thing about meeting your soulmate in college is how often does that actually work out? How does one even date in college when hook-up culture is so prevalent? Funny that my professor should bring up finding soulmates the week of my sister’s wedding. Interestingly enough for her, she met her husband in college. So, at least my sister is clearly on the right track.
To be completely honest, the concept of my sister’s wedding was so strange to me at first. I have been to weddings sure, but when I was too young to really understand them. It was weird then to try and grasp that my older sister was going to be the one saying “I do” up there. Well, the day of the wedding finally came and it was the most perfect day we could’ve ever asked for. The weather was gorgeous, both bride and groom remained calm and collected, and the entire ceremony ran without any flaws.
Right after the ceremony was the cocktail hour, and as maid of honor I was to help Mary with her veil and gather grandparents. However, this proved quite challenging when random family members would grab me and introduce themselves as my cousin. I had no idea I had so many relatives(!), because many of these “cousins” I am pretty sure I have never seen in my entire life. Even better was when people I kinda recognized but KINDA didn’t would approach me and try chatting it up with me. One would think they would see the confusion on my face and clear things up by opening with, “Hey I’m ______. You know me from ________. Remember the last time I saw you when _________”. Well, this one couple gave me absolutely nothing to work with, so there I was sipping my Manhattan from a straw, (which I later learned is the absolute incorrect way to drink one), trying to figure out who these people were. I would ask things like, “Where’d you come from to get here?”, only to discover they were from my hometown. Oops. I then would ask about their daughter, to learn that the girl I mentioned was not their daughter. To say I was left completely in the dark as to how these people knew me so well would be an understatement. I felt and looked absolutely ridiculous as I kept fishing in the dark trying to connect these dots. To make matters worse, they then asked me if I was seriously seeing anybody. I burst out laughing, shaking my head before running away from the situation, claiming I needed to find my grandma.
And I think that’s what’s so fascinating about the whole spectacle of weddings. Here you are supporting and witnessing two people professing their love in front of their friends and family. At the same time those in attendance who are already married are reminded of the importance of marriage, and are supposedly strengthened in witnessing new couples saying “I do”. Then there are those of us who are single who are reminded just how single we really are, and we are left wondering when we will be the ones up there. Will we ever be lucky enough to be up there with our soulmate?
My sister and I have debated about finding “the one” and whether or not everyone has a “person” out there who will find us because it is our destiny. While my sister does not believe in this fate of finding one perfect person, I like to think that there most definitely is someone out there who will find me. I think that’s all we can do really, just live life and let our “persons” come find us. For I truly believe that once we’re doing what we absolutely love and love ourselves fully, can we have someone enter our lives that can love us back unconditionally. He may not find me in this last month of college, but I know that he is out there and will come and get me one day.
3 words. 8 letters.