Aaahhh summer romance. I am lacking current inspiration today so I'll write a little bit about my romantic past. I was debating between titling this "the Mennonite - part 1" or "why you should never date actors - part 1" or "why I need to date religious guys," though that's not the overarching moral of the story.
Last summer (2007, because this summer is not far enough behind us to call last summer yet) I met this guy and fell head over heels for him. I was doing acroyoga in Bryant Park - which is like yoga but you're up in the air, being held up by someone's feet. We were attracting a lot of attention this group of us doing acroyoga and as I was hanging upsidedown, I see this guy take my picture.
This totally threw off my concentration and relaxation because I don't like strangers taking pictures of me, particularly when I'm hanging upside down. Anyway, so when I got down, he came and showed me the picture, which made me feel like he was less sketchy. He was actually really cute (it's hard to tell when you're upside down with all the blood rushing to your head). So I asked him to email me copies of the pictures.
When I wrote down my name and email address, he goes "oh, that's a pretty name." This kid was a smooth operator.
It was a week before he emailed me (he did it right before the next weekly Bryant Park movie). Of course, we saw each other at Bryant Park and as we talked, it turned out he lived mere blocks away from me, which is pretty cool. I don't know too many people who live in my area of Brooklyn.
So of course, at the end of the night, we took the subway home together and he walked me home. I invited him to come up and we sat and talked for a while, even though he had work the next morning. I think my resume was sitting out on the table or something (I was unemployed at the time) and he saw that I was a religious studies minor. It then came out that he is a Mennonite. Not the exceptionally strict kind who only wears black and is only really one step away from being Amish, but religious nonetheless.
I, however, am not religious. Just fascinated by religion. But I am a "good midwestern girl" with essentially Christian values in the sense that I don't do drugs, drink socially, don't sleep around, etc. So I tend to be attracted to religious guys because they are the ones whose value systems seem to be closest to mine. Unfortunately, me not being religious, they won't usually date me because they think I'm damned for all eternity to the depths of Hell...
Anyway, so we got to talking and he has a very similar set of values - no drugs, drinks socially, doesn't sleep around. He was also from the midwest. My heart melted. Plus he was still an artist - a photographer and actor. Being artsy myself, I tend to go for artsy guys. However, artsy seems to go along with alcoholic/stoner/cokehead/self-absorbed or some combination thereof a lot of the time and I was getting really frustrated. So I was really excited to meet an artsy guy who actually had moral values similar to mine. I thought he was perfect for me (in an "at the time" sense, not like in the "I want to marry you" sense). I thought he was exactly what I needed after a string of really bad dating experiences. Or so I thought...
Comments (7)
It's hard to comment without hearing the rest of the story.......
I am super curious as to the rest of the story. What "kind" of mennonite was/is he? Obviously you said not amish but I mean is he ultra conservative, not so conservative, what type of church (modern or not), do they allow instruments, are women in dresses only, women wearing headcoverings...? Sorry I have a lot of friends who are all ranges of mennonite so naturally I'm curious.
@breakingthemold - I'm not sure exactly because I don't know enough about the various levels of Mennonites. Pretty modern. He dressed like anyone else and he was really liberal (which is why he was theoretically pretty perfect for me). I don't think women at his church had to wear skirts either.
@musterion99@xanga - I realize that. but I try to write fairly often regardless of whether I'm inspired to do so, so I thought I'd start writing this for now. Although you could comment on religious compatibility, artists, anything really, regardless of the rest of the story
@hopelessromantic - I'll just wait for Part II.
Hm. See, I actually prefer them even more rare than that. I don't smoke or drink (often/copiously). I don't do drugs, and I don't sleep around. Yet, I absolutely cannot do a serious long-term relationship with a guy who is religious at all.
I lucked out with my current boyfriend, who holds all the same ethical values, plus is polite and avoids profanity, yet holds the same religious beliefs, as well - NONE!
But they're damn hard to find.
Wow, a total cliffhanger! You're quite a storyteller. I actually looking forward to hearing about what happens next.
@la_faerie_joyeuse@xanga - Yes they are damn hard to find.
@bwfrazier08@xanga - Thanks