Love Lounge: Perils of pressure

Let's talk pressure today, friends. You know, the kind that bears down on your shoulders and tries to get the best of you? It's an evil little monster, isn't it? And after some comments in yesterday's MEMO TO MEN, I got to thinking about all the pressure that comes with Cupid's arrow -- or lack of Cupid's arrow. The vicious cycle starts when we're teenagers. We see our friends having all these new experiences -- seeking out with boys, stealing secret kisses -- and we start to panic. We can't be the last of our friends to have these experiences, we think. So we sometimes just jump in head-without-heart to simply get it over with. Another item checked off our romantic to-do list. Done. Easy as that.

But somewhere down the line, we realize just what a mistake we've made. Maybe things don't feel the way they should. We don't feel those butterflies. We don't feel that giddy, school-girl glow coming over us. We feel, well, nothing. And it's the worst none-feeling feeling in the whole world. And that's when, sometimes, we realize that we let all that pressure get the better of us.
Well, me? I don't want to just do it. First kiss. First date. I don't want to just get them over with. Because that's not what any of them mean to me. They all mean something to me -- every first kiss, every first date, even every first fight -- and I don't want to be left feeling like I let someone else's pressure lead my heart into making the wrong decision. I'm starting to believe that things will naturally happen when they're supposed to, so I'm not going to rush things along. If I do, I'll miss the beauty of the scenery along the way. And something tells me I don't want to miss out on even one second of that beauty.

Do you ever feel that sort of pressure, friends? Are there certain things you've done just to get them over with? Was it worth it? Have your views changed as you've gotten older? xoxo

[Photos via Le Love]