"Ring by spring," is a phrase I often heard of freshman year of college, but I never thought much of it.
I would notice in the spring semester there would be more relationship posts on Facebook that read, "Sally Smith got engaged to John Brown." I would give the post a like, but I was a freshman, and seniors were irrelevant to me. Rings, location and "the picture" never crossed my mind as a freshman until I met you.
When I met you during freshman year, you were already four years into the most classically, Southern relationship I had ever seen. Even though you would still go out to the bars with me, you never hesitated to tell any boy close to you that you had a boyfriend.
All of this was new to me, considering I hadn't dated a guy for more than five months. So your comments on all of this commitment and talk of the future were enough to give ME a heart attack. But on the other hand, I always kind of envied you. You didn't have to worry about what to wear, how you looked or impressing boys, because you had already found your person and you were so sure of it.
You were the one who taught me about each and every cut of engagement ring. Before you, I didn't know the difference between a princess cut, a pear-shaped, a diamond band, or a 2-carat engagement ring.
You came into your freshman year of college as a hospitality major (whatever that is), knowing that your boyfriend was an engineering major. You knew you just had to wait through these four years and you'll have a ring by spring.
Although I will never understand your choices, I will always support you.
Who am I to judge your happiness as right or wrong? If you want to plan out your life down to the minivan you will drive or the neighborhood you will live in, you should do that. Even though the thought of mortgages, picket fences, and the whole package makes me nauseous, we are different people and that's OK.
I don't mean to be cynical, I do believe in true love. However, I don't know what I'm going to eat for lunch today or what classes I will be taking in the fall. If I can't make these decisions now, how can I decide to spend the rest of my life with someone? But maybe you have it figured out.
The moral of the story is, do what makes you happy.
