I don't smoke, not ever. But sometimes, my friend says to me, "Ben. Are you high? That's something a high person would say." And right now, I have one of those statements for you. Brace yourself.
Think about this -
Every road in America is connected. Once that thought enters your mind, you realize that it's not absurd. Of course they are all connected. It sometimes just blows my mind to think that from Pronghorn Ranch, Prescott Valley, AZ., I can get to any street in our country. I can go from my house to Harrison Avenue, Foxcroft, Maine (credit to Google Maps for this illustration, thanks.).
Sometimes, the bleak realization hits me that sadly, romance is this way too. Everything and everyone is connected. You can't skip steps, or cross the field. You have to stick to the roads to get to your destrination.
No longer is there spontaneity in blossoming relationships. No longer can you introduce yourself, but rather, someone else does the introduction for you. You have to stick to the road. I long for a world similar to any sitcom, where you can be attracted to the girl at the coffee shop, the bookstore, the bakery, or the theater, and have it be socially acceptable.
In this fictional world, it would be alright for you to constantly spend unrealistic amounts of money on mundane things such as over-doses of caffeine, cupcakes, books, movies, etc. In order for an opportunity to talk to her.
Sadly, How I Met Your Mother is wrong. I'm reminiscing about an episode where Marshall, Ted, and Barney try going to a coffee shop where Marshall has been flirting with the barista. Watch the clip.
This doesn't happen! But in all fairness, it should. Baristas - put hearts next to names on the coffee cups. Girls in the bakery - give free cookies. Girls in the bookstore - recommend a book. Girls in the concessions stand at movie theaters - forget to charge me for me refill (arguably, the lamest of my examples so far).
We notice. I notice. It makes it a little bit easier, and inspires some form of confidence to traverse into the world of the unknown, the world of talking to girls that you've never met before. Shed the notion of creepers.
My hope is that this post becomes viral. My hope is that they all become viral, but this one especially. People need to understand that it's alright for a stranger to introduce themselves to you. It's alright. Let's trust the sitcoms.
