Dear Steemy,
A month ago I met the woman I want to marry. She is a friend of a family member, and I fell in love with her the day we met. I have always thought that the movies where this happens are trash, and I still do but I'm in love. She lives in another state but this was home before she moved. Every second since that day we've been together, but her vacation ended and now she's back in her current state. I can't stop thinking about her, and we communicate all the time when we're not working or busy. I think I have to move to be with her, I haven't felt this way ever before. We're not planning on living together yet, but when her lease is up we will. I have the savings and I'm checking for interviews already for jobs, but I feel like I'm leaving everything behind too, like my friends and family. I have the savings but it's all happening so fast.
Lovestruck
Dear Lovestruck,
You got it, you got it bad. Maybe Cupid opted for an atom bomb instead of an arrow? If you're suddenly running for a copy of the Bridget Jones Diary in a mad dash attempt to up your sensitivity level, I'd hold off on the Netflix. Love is a many splendored thing, and it is arguably also a sea of chemical responses that distorts our judgement. Still, whatever voodoo happens, it's real and it can change the course of our entire life. Change is a good phenomenon, and a scary one too. When the future is unknown, the possibilities are boundless, but practical planning also has its place in life and keeps us grounded here.
Love is a Highway
I knew a couple that had met on a cruise and was married inside of a month, and have been for years now. And yet another couple who dated for years, and divorced shortly after marriage. There is no one size fits all for love. If love is a highway, then there are too many lanes to even count. What's important here is that you're feeling this strong of an emotion so suddenly. There are profound changes happening that were instigated by this one event, meeting this woman. And it sounds like the feeling is reciprocated, so congratulations you are now officially on the Highway of Love. There may be some traffic ahead, watch for road signs.
Something Like a Phenomenon
It's sounding like you're already leaning towards moving. But still, you have to face the fact that love is a phenomenon that can alter us deeply, and changing your life so suddenly will have the same effect. You may not realize it, but you're a creature of habit like everyone else, and when you move you won't have a favorite anything for a while. Sure, it's a new adventure and you will find you way, but don't trivialize the life you're currently leading, no matter who or what is at stake. If you're ready for a big change, and big it will be, then I wish you the greatest success. How our very lives are determined is such a phenomenon, this could be yours.
Burn a Bridge, Build a Castle
It is completely understandable to feel like you're burning bridges with this decision. Sudden life choices can seem bizarre to others, and the relationships we build in communities rests on a bedrock of trust and cooperation. Leaving suddenly may seem like abandoning everyone, but that may not be the case.
Instead of thinking about it as losing everyone, think about it as finding more of yourself. If you feel this is potentially "the one," the life lesson you learn, either way, will be an invaluable experience if you let it be. You're not burning a bridge behind you, you're building a castle up ahead. If you feel even slightly that you will deeply regret not taking this chance, your decision has already been made. I wish you the all the luck in deciding if you'll execute that decision.
Good Luck Lovestruck,
Steemy