The thought of being in a relationship can be frightening for some people, especially if they’ve never experienced one before. Every day of our lives we are all trying to impress someone; whether we are interviewing for that far-fetched internship, working so hard on a paper that’ll amaze your professor, or maybe there’s a super cute guy that you pass in-between classes every Tuesday, and you want to look your best for that split second you walk past him. Whatever it may be, we all have suffered from the stresses that come along with trying to awe someone, and aiming for perfection. Amongst all of this stress the last thing you want is to feel the need to be “perfect” in your relationship. Dating your best friend might seem strange to you, but I’m going to tell you how incredible it is, based on my firsthand experience.
We met in an elevator lobby on our freshman floor at TCNJ. He was super sweet, and we bonded over the fact that leaning on the elevator was not our best idea, because it kept opening and we kept falling over. If you would’ve told me a little over a year ago, I would soon start dating him, I would not have believed you. Relationships used to intimidate the heck out of me, and I am not kidding; I didn’t even kiss a boy until college! The thought of opening myself up to someone and the risk of being rejected was something so fearful to me that I shut out the thought of relationships for a long time. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be in a relationship, it was that my fears wouldn’t allow me to be in one. During the first couple of months for me at TCNJ, I grew very close to my freshman floor, including this one boy. There was something about him, not only was he super sweet and a great friend, but it’s like I subconsciously knew that he was something special. I attempted to set him up on dates with a couple of different girls (including my best friend), because I thought so highly of him; not even thinking to try to set him up with myself. But over time, his captivating personality drew me in, and before I knew it I was falling for him.
There’s something about falling in love with a friend that is so scary, yet comforting at the same time. It’s scary because what if something goes wrong? Will you lose them as a friend? I tried to avoid falling for him because friends are super important to me; but sometimes you just can’t resist…and boy, I couldn’t. Falling in “like” or “love” with a friend is so special; you don’t have to experience the awkwardness of spending time together for the first time, because you’ve hung out plenty of times before. They know how many siblings you have, and how much you love cookie dough ice cream; so you can just skip over all of those questions, and getting to know their basic interests! When you’re falling in love with them, you quickly become so invested in knowing everything about them, aspects of their personality that you have never known before. Most importantly, you feel comfortable as you’re opening yourself up to someone who already loves you for the part of you that they know; and they will continue to accept you for all of you. Now, I’m not saying that you should go and start trying to fall in love with a close friend, it is something that just happens. It may or not be someone you’re best friends with currently, but that’s ok; because throughout you’re relationship, they become the best-est friend you’ve ever had. Wait for it, it’s worth it.
I met him in August 2015 while attending our first floor meeting in the elevator lobby of Travers 7, and now I love him with all of my heart. Crazy, right? Falling in love with him was one of the easiest things I have ever done, because he was so accepting of me, and my flaws. He knows the deepest parts of my life, and still loves me for that. For me, dating my best friend is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Not only do I have someone who cares about my future, but who also accepts my past. I’m with someone who I can have all of the carefree fun in the world with (and kiss them too!). He’s someone who I argue with all of the time, because we are both so stubborn, but we always end up laughing about it later on. He’s my best friend, the one I love, and his name is Ricky. Happy one year dude!