7 years ago...

7 years ago to the date was the last night without K-dawg in my life....







I'd been out of college right at a year, working as an administrative assistant and doing night classes towards my graduate degree. I was young, independent and ready to take on the world. Up until early Spring 2003, I was dating whoever would ask; seeing it as nothing more than a string of free meals and a way to kill time.

I was hung-up on boy I'd been crazy about and I mean CRAZY about since my sophomore year. We became really good friends and spent lots of time together. I thought there was more to *us* and that Friday night it became painfully obvious that there would never be a *we*. I was heartbroken and crushed. CRUSHED. We're talking about someone I'd chased for 5 years.

That night I turned my future and my dating life over to God. It became obvious that I was going about things the absolute WRONG way. I thought I DESERVED nothing, so I SETTLED. That night, I made a long list of things I wouldn't settle for in a future relationship, turned it over to God and resolved to be happy being single. I became so focused on this new found freedom from the pressure I'd put on myself to be in a relationship that I almost didn't accept K-dawg's offer for a date. Accepting was something I really struggled with and think I only accepted because I was staying in town over Easter weekend and my roommates were all going to be gone.

Here's my list of what I was looking for:
- Must be a Christian and attending church.
- Must have a career.
- Must have a good relationship with his family and parents.
- Must be respectful.
- Must have morals and be of good character.
- Must not be a heavy drinker. (college boy was alcoholic)
- Must live in the RDU area (didn't want any more of the long distance thing)
- Must become part of my life (very few of the boys I dated did I involve in my life)
- Would be nice if they shared a passion for all things NC State.
- Would be nice if they were taller than me.

And, I know it sounds cliche, but it happened when I LEAST expected it and when I'd totally turned my focus AWAY from a relationship.... (to be continued)