*Name changed for privacy

Everybody starts dating at different times in their lives, whether it’s in middle school or high school. I had crushes in middle school and in high school, but I didn’t get a boyfriend until I was 19. I know it’s shocking. I bet a lot of you will be asking me why didn’t you have a boyfriend in middle school or high school?

Well, since you asked, I didn’t have a boyfriend in middle school or high school because I thought the guys I liked in the past liked me when they were just messing with my feelings. I decided after those situations, that I would wait until the right person came around to pursue a dating relationship. I didn’t know I would have feelings for a guy in college until I met my boyfriend before he was my boyfriend.

Kevin and I met during bridge week during the week before the fall semester started a year and half ago. We met through my ex-roommate (the one I talked about during my article “How Bullying Has Impacted Me”). I mean, I can’t lie about how I met Kevin. Anyway, I thought he was the cutest guy I had ever seen. There was one problem when I first met him, and that was he already had a girlfriend at the time. I still became friends with him during that week. I decided to find a different guy, but wait, let me explain. It will make more sense as I explain more.

During orientation weekend, I had lunch with my parents at the dining hall. Then, I saw Kevin, and as I said "hi." My parents asked him if he would like to join us. Kevin said sure. My parents started to get to know Kevin. My mom asked me if I wanted to get dessert, and I said okay. Then, my mom said, “He’s cute, you should ask him out.” I got embarrassed and hoped Kevin didn’t hear her (but he told me he did hear her a few months after we started dating). I told her, “He’s got a girlfriend.” Then, she said, “Oh that relationship won’t last.” I thought my mom was being a little mean, but I also knew she was just trying to help me. The problem was I didn’t know I was developing feelings for him, at the time.

Of course, I met a different guy on campus, but my feelings for Jack* didn’t last long. It was because I was thinking about Kevin. Even though he was only a friend at the time, I started to develop more feelings for him, the more time I spent with him.

After he told me his ex-girlfriend broke up with him, I should’ve been happy, but I felt bad, and all I did was be the best support system I could be. I remember telling him that one day he would find another girl who would be proud to be his girlfriend. At that time, I thought he was going to date someone else.

When summer came, I decided to go to his improv show since I heard he was an improviser. My grandma took me because I asked her to, and I wanted to do something different with her besides book shopping. I didn’t tell him I was coming because I wanted to surprise him. When I decided to go to his improv show, something told me I should go, and I was glad I did.

When his improv show was happening, he mentioned The Hunger Games during his show since he knew I was a Hunger Games fan (it was so he knew he saw me in the audience). I didn’t talk to him after the show because my grandma had to drop me off at home, so she could go to work the next day. Kevin texted me telling me, “Thanks for coming to my improv show. I had no idea you were coming.” I told him that I wanted to surprise him. He also asked me why I didn’t stay, and I told him it was because my grandma had to work the next day. I honestly regret not staying.

A month later, my grandma went with me to Kevin’s improv show again, but Kevin would drive me home, instead of my grandma. Also, my grandma said that he liked me because he was looking at me. I didn’t believe her, at first, because it was a mistake for me to think that a guy liked me by the way he looked at me. Like I said before when I mentioned about having crushes in the past. I thought the guys I liked in the past liked me by the way they were looking at me, but I was wrong. Anyway, after the show was over, my grandma stayed a little bit to meet Kevin, and then she left. I hung out with Kevin a little bit, and then I met his parents and one of his brothers. They were nice people.

When Kevin was driving me home, I told him I was interested in watching Doctor Who (he told me that he was a Doctor Who fan, and after I saw a trailer of Doctor Who, I thought it looked like an awesome show). It surprised Kevin, and it looked like it made me happy. Then, he thought I was going to ask him out, but I said no, immediately. I know it sounded bad, but I was nervous to tell him that I liked him since my past experience with liking guys. After I thanked him for dropping me off, I got out of the car and got in the house. I didn’t realize that I felt really great after being with him.

Five days later, I was going somewhere with my family, and I was texting Kevin. Then, my mom decided to take my phone and told Kevin to ask me out. I immediately told him that was not me who sent that text, and then, I decided to tell him that I liked him. The way I said it was, “What would you say if I told you that I like you?” I thought he was going to say, “I’m sorry, I don’t like you that way.” But I was wrong. He said, “I’m okay with it.” I was confused. Then, he asked me the same question I asked him, and I said, “Where do we go from here?” He decided that we should go on the boat with his parents that Friday, and I agreed.

I know what you’re thinking. I finally got a first date with Kevin. But, I actually thought it was a hangout, not a date.

When that day came, I was nervous and excited at the same time. Then, Kevin and I walked to the docks and waited for his parents to pick us up on the boat. At that moment, he asked me whether I’m over Jack*. I told him I was over him because of the way Jack* treated me, and I didn’t deserve to be treated like I was nothing. As his parents picked us up, we got on the boat and headed off. The boat ride was beautiful and relaxing at the same time. We went to a very nice restaurant on the river. Kevin and I got to know each other more. After we got back to his house, we watched some YouTube videos, and then, we watched the first episode of Doctor Who (from 2005). When it was time for me to go home, he dropped me off at my house. I thanked him for our date and told him we should do it again sometime.

A month after hanging out, he asked me to be girlfriend, and I said yes.

Kevin and I have been dating for more than a year and a half now, and I’ve been really happy. He was the guy I wanted to be with. He is someone who I can talk to about Disney and Harry Potter and watch movies together that we both like. Most of all, I’m with someone who accepts me for who I am and found me beautiful.

Every love story is different and make yours a good one.