"So, do you have a boyfriend yet?" It is the question everyone has been asking me lately—my friends, coworkers, and distant family members. I force myself to put a smile on my face and sweetly reply, "No. Not yet." What I don't tell them is between studying for the LSAT, taking difficult college classes (because when are they ever easy?), volunteering, securing internships, hanging with friends, and trying to take care of myself when do I have the time for a boyfriend?
Oddly, when I first started dating my parents were chill about it. There were no interrogations. No background checks. Nothing. It was everybody else that seemed to have a problem with whoever I was dating. My coworkers analyzed everything I told them—freely sharing their own dating experiences in the process. My Uncle Mark peppered me with questions when he first found out I had a boyfriend. Who is he? What does he do for a living? What are his goals in life? How old is he?
While some of my family members decided to take the protective approach, my grandparents decided to take a different route. They were super excited—ecstatic even—that I finally entered the dating world. One of my grandparents even joked about wedding bells being in my not so distant future (please God no).
So when the news of my breakup reached the ears of my grandparents, I'm sure you can just imagine their disappointment. I remember telling them the news over the telephone one afternoon. The other end of the line went silent for a moment before I heard a very disheartened, disappointed, "Oh." Which was soon after followed by, "You're going to put yourself back out there though right?"
In that instant, I knew. I knew that while my grandmother wanted me to be happy—she also wanted me to be happy with a guy. What she didn't seem to understand, and which I didn't bother explaining to her, is that I can be happy without a boyfriend in my life. One is not necessarily dependent on the other.
So to everyone who is asking me, no I don't have a boyfriend yet. But I'll let you know when the right guy comes along.
