"I Didn't Know You Were Into That"

I’d like to preface this by saying I legitimately don’t have strong opinions about anything that isn’t work related.

And although I enjoy writing, I rarely write for fun. (though I do tell a mean story)

Seriously though, Politics? Religion? Social Issues? The aggressively worded opinions of others? Unless its directly effecting my subordinates, or my ability to perform my job, I genuinely don’t care.

So, for me to take the time away from my busy schedule as a Student (LOL) to compose this speaks volumes to the seriousness of the topic I’m about to discuss. I suppose I never even thought that I’d have an opinion on this subject at all. I guess I just assumed since it was 2017 and I grew up in the city, and Obama was the president, and it was something peripherally happening all around me that no one even gave it a second thought.

I first met my girlfriend at the beginning of the semester through a mutual friend who is one of her sorority sisters. I was immediately captivated by her charm, the way she carried herself and more importantly how much everyone who knew her respected her. She moved with the same ease through conversation, we moved effortlessly from topic to topic, cracked jokes and I spent far more money on drinks for her than I should have.

We did the typical millennial dating dance and talked the rest of the semester. I was a gentleman, slid in the DMs and got those digits, we went on our first date, DTR’ed and deleted all our exes on Instagram. A true modern love story.

And true to typical millennial dating I was left in a conundrum.

Being the charismatic warfighter that I am, there were obviously two or three ladies on the periphery who needed to be let down now that I was going to make my latest foray (google it) into monogamy. At first I contemplated the ghosting route. Tried and true, it remains the easiest way for any red-blooded American man to make his roster cuts when he decides to #wifeup.

This time though, it felt different; this wasn’t some two-month relationship that would end with a fight and me realizing I was out several of my favorite hoodies. This was a beautiful, compelling, sweet girl who understood me. In short I wanted to leave no chance for karma to screw with my new-found happiness, so I decided to do the honorable thing, and composed a text to each of my soon to be forsaken conquests (again, gentleman) and let them know that things were getting serious with someone else and sorry, but not sorry.

But then a funny thing happened; women, being naturally inquisitive, demanded to know who was taking the number one spot. And upon offering the name, sorority and rough description of my girlfriend to be they all responded with roughly the same statement: “Her? Huh, I didn’t know you were into that.”

Which brings me all the way around to my point: Into What?

Should I not be into dating Marketing grads? She definitely sold herself to me.

Should I not be into dating Sorority girls? They come off a little basic and cliquey but honestly, all of her sisters have been supportive and accepting of my lunacy.

Should I not be into dating writers? She expresses herself more completely than anyone I’ve ever met.

Should I not be into dating Cowboy’s fans? That just means she can handle sadness and being let down by something she loves (which is a major key for dating me anyway)

Should I not be into dating a black woman? Does the color of someone’s skin still define what is viewed as acceptable between two people in a relationship?

I certainly don’t believe so. I think that in this time of unparalleled technological growth and travel. Of togetherness and interconnection on a scale never seen in the history of man, where I can interact with millions of people from an app while I cook breakfast the least of our worries should be race. I have served and bled alongside men of all races, broad spectrums of tribal and ethnic groups, I have studied the major religions and learned new languages. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, all I wanted to do was start dating this pretty, intelligent, funny chick who was friends with my friend… which I think is one of the most normal and human desires that someone could possibly have.

Finding someone who fits your personality transcends any kind of weirdo assbackwards 1950’s worldview you may choose to entertain as your own. But to you I’d say it’s 2017… time to get over it. Be into whatever makes you happy.

#Racism #Relationships #Couples