I initially knew Mary Jane through her group of friends back in high school, whom I had several crushes with and actually took one of them out to the formal. It wasn't until sophomore year did I have direct conversations with her, all during our passing minutes between periods, as we would walk together to our next class. We had a couple of classes together, which lead to several after school study sessions. Yes, we were actually studying, Mary Jane is a big nerd! On top of all this after school study sessions together, she had a boyfriend and it wasn't me. Yes, I stole her away--however, I still like to think that she fell for my brains more than my charm!
I always told myself, "What's the point of having a girlfriend when you can't take her out?" I was fortunate to have my driver's license and a car right when we started studying together. That was a big plus as our study sessions didn't end in the library, but rather from our drive home, as we grew to understand and know more about each other. Little did I know that all this time spent together would transpire into a relationship. Unfortunately, it wasn't until junior year that I wanted to give this a shot. What sealed the deal was the morning she completed and put the finishing touches on my face for a rally on campus (see photo).
As college neared, she decided to go to UC, Irvine (BORING) instead of UC, Santa Barbara (FUN). I guess you can say that she made the right call, as it solidified our relationship, throwing out all the insecurities, trust issues with one another, and cementing our communication lines. We were like a long distance married couple.
At the end of the day, Mary Jane was like the diamond in the rough, the one that I didn't let slip away!
October 1997 Painting his face before our homecoming rally Junior year
Her Version . . .
We both went to Delano High School together, met through mutual friends, then became good friends as well.He actually had a crush on one of my good friends and I was dating somebody at the time.We started studying together and he started giving me rides home after our study sessions.Of course time and friendship blossomed into admiration for each other then love.We continued our relationship through college and tested our love with long distance.Like they said, distance makes a heart grow fonder and we’ve proved it.We cherished every time spent together as if it were our last.Now we’re testing to see how long it will take before we get sick of each other by spending everyday together (which is similar to marriage).So far, it’s been pretty good – he’s not that messy and I have not nagged him to death yet (or so I think).But all in all, we’ve had more good days than bad, more laughter than tears, and more love and understanding that anger and hate.Well, I guess this is a preview of the rest of our lives together – and I’m still looking forward to it even after 10 years.
UCSB & UCI At in & out after our bowling tournament with my roommates freshman year.
