One night I found myself in a not-smoky bar, terribly underage but due to the fact that I am a woman I was served alcohol. It's the unspoken rule that all men wish they could employ. I was at a table with very good friends, cute new boys and in the background you could clearly hear the not-so-talented voices of Ann Arbor's best karaoke.
As I watched my girlfriends make these new faces laugh and enthrall them with stories of their college experiences, I starred aimlessly at my cell phone in hopes for it to buzz. I guess I found the need to mend totally expired wounds of a boy I "used to date." Now that it's two in the morning, and I am at home writing this piece, I kick myself for not turning off my phone at the immediate sight of "1 NEW MSG." I knew I'd be in for a long night.
Sure enough, I missed out on the reason we go to bars, and left with my brain consumed with confusion from the little information (yet so much) I received via text messaging. So, the real question is this: why do we allow ourselves to use things (and people) of a lesser value, just because it's easy? And is easy always better?
I connected with this boy because I knew he wouldn't respond. I unintentionally broke his heart this winter over something that still baffles my mind, and when I heard the song playing at the bar that reminded me of him, I took the risk. He wrote back, and during crucial flirting time I tried to solve the mysteries of a boy that should be a name of my past. It's so easy to get lost in the words and emotions of an old lover, but is easy always better?
Ladies and gentlemen, we need to know that easy is not always better. The best things in life are free, yes, but just because you don't pay for it doesn't mean you don't have to work for it. The most successful prizes are won when someone deserves them, and it really makes them all that more special and worthwhile.
The same applies to relationships. I called that boy because I felt bad about what happened and for hurting someone I truly cared about, but the fact that I felt disappointed when he would no longer return my texts or worst, wouldn't tell me what I wanted to hear. Why do I want to hear from someone who intentionally hurt my feelings in the past, when I should just ignore them forever? It's because it's easy to feel for someone you felt deeply for in the past again.
We must restart our engines and take advantage of the karaoke bars in our hometowns. Remember that Facebook and text messaging can ruin lives and relationships, and the blissful relationships in the world are possible because of the rush of flirting and being exposed fully - even though it's hard as hell.
It's easy to fall back into old habits, they die hard. But the real pain is taking the first step in a new direction.
Write to Chelsea at cppicken@bsu.edu
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