Building Blocks

In 2013, I wrote an article on the state of dating at that time. In it, I talked about how when I first got to high school, I thought it’d be like a John Hughes movie. While I was looking for someone to hold hands and get ice cream with, my ideals often clashed with what was going on around me... which many times was late night texts, booty calls, “let’s not give this a name's, and requests for pictures that you wouldn’t want your mom to find.

To this day, my ideals still sometimes clash with other people's dating goals. My romantic soul wants building blocks.

If hooking up is your thing, by all means, do your thing. But what about the others? The ones who want to skip the hooking up and cut to something that sticks? I wrote about this in my song “I Will Wait” – it’s about waiting for something real instead of jumping into something fleeting. Call me idealistic, but I’m looking for someone to share my life with, to be my best friend and partner in life. I think everyone deserves to get the kind of love that they want. And for the romantic types, I think we want someone who is there for us unconditionally.

So many facets of our lives today are transient – fast food, disposable clothing; we “like” a post and it goes up our feed, never to be seen again. Do relationships have to be transient as well? Or can we still build meaningful relationships, even in this day and age?

This world seems kinda jaded to me. I feel like many people have given up on romantic relationships, lots people choosing to bow out of the dating game altogether. We are tired of meeting someone new every week, never growing but constantly going on first dates (if you even wanna call them that, most people today prefer the term “hanging out” so that it doesn’t look like you actually want to go on a date with someone).

I'm starting to notice people around me wanting more. More than “hanging out,” more than a swipe, more than talking for a month only to get ghosted. I’m seeing a movement of people looking for something real, and I’m one of them. I think there have been enough years of nothing, now it’s time for something amazing... for love. Life may not be a movie, but we can have meaningful relationships; fights, missteps and all.

As a hopeful romantic, I've always wanted a relationship where we create a foundation on which our lives can be built and shared. I want a relationship where I can get to know him on a deeper level. But I want more than to just know him... I want to know him, the little things that other people don't know. I want inside jokes and our favourite restaurant. I want our song, and midnight talks. I want to know him, and I want him to know me better than anyone else... building blocks that stack up until you have a home.

Written by: Krista Hannesen, Editor in Chief of A Beautiful Life Magazine. Find her on Instagram @kristahannesen