During the weekend, my friends and I went to Busch Gardens in Virginia. We went on a lot of roller coasters and walked around the park.The theme of the Virginia Busch Gardens is European countries. It was fun to see the Americanized version of Europe. It was nowhere close to as beautiful as the real thing, not to mention lacking cultural accuracy. But it was still fun none the less. My favorite part of the trip was being with my two best friends. Although I did not expect it, the amusement park is a good object lesson for relationships, specifically romantic ones.

I am currently single. I have only had one real boyfriend, and we have been broken up for over a year now. Ever since him, I have yet to find a guy I want to date, nor have I found a guy who wants to date me. I have talked to a handful of guys. I am not completely shut in, but I am also not actively looking. I have had many false hopes and potential boyfriends, but they never seem to work out. I have decided to lower my expectations. Here is what I mean by that:

My intentions when I talk to guys is to be their friend, but somehow that seems stranger to guys than if I was trying to hit on them. I am not sure why it is so odd to guys that I do not need them to promise me a lifetime of their companionship. Even when I try to be realistic with them and tell them our relationship of any kind probably won't last, they tell me not to think like that. Maybe it is not attractive to be a predictor of endings, but I am not afraid to let go of people in my life anymore. I already know the people in my life who will be there for the long haul.

Okay, so what do amusement parks have to do with relationships? Well, this is how I see it. Life is the amusement park as a whole. Riding on the rides are like relationships. Now, this analogy may not be for everyone, but it is how my relationships with guys have been. Sometimes I have to wait to find a guy I actually like and want to hang out with. In amusement park terms, I wait in line to get onto a roller coaster. When I finally get onto the roller coaster, I spend time with the guy. The ride is fun and amusing, but it does not last very long. I get off the ride and wonder to myself if it was worth riding again. If you have a winner, you wait in line again to ride it. If you hate the ride, you choose to walk away and move to the next one.

Now, every person I meet is not a roller coaster and guys are not just some way to amuse myself. Guys want love too. We are all a ride to someone else. I am sure there are guys in my life that feel the same way I do about relationships with girls. You cannot know if you are going to like someone until you give them a chance.

For the people who stick around for a long time, those are the people that we bring with us to the amusement park. They are there with you rating the rides you go on and wanting you to be happy.

In my head, once the roller coaster chooses you, it transforms into a lifetime rider with you because together you meet new people and form new relationships to make a difference in this world.

So never give up on people. Keep riding rides because people are what makes life interesting.