I need to back to high school...

and learn about this thing they call "chemistry" -- seeing as how that's a class you must take junior year so maybe going back to high school will help me in my quest. i mean, seeing as how i pretty much failed the academic version of "chemistry", i seem to still be confused with the other kind of "chemistry", or "sparks" in a relational sense. (and i admit i'm also definitely still way confused about elements and atoms and all that other useless crap).

i for one, think that when you first meet someone, there's something that initially draws you toward them. it might be looks, it might not. it might be how they smile, how they're laughing with their friends, whatever floats your boat. and many times, that initial attraction doesn't pan out - you talk to them and you find something disappointing out about them -- like they're unable to form complete sentences, or maybe the first thing they tell you is that your ass looks hot in those jeans. OR, on the flipside, you could talk, and they could be witty and funny and smart, and just have what i like to call "IT." there's something that makes you want to keep talking to them, something that is intriguing and that you're excited about. the latter is what you always hope will happen.

but here's the dilemma - is this "spark" even real -- is it even necessary? now, i'm not talking about when you make a connection with someone - as in have a great conversation, you like the same food and you just both finished reading "war and peace." that's a great connection for sure, on paper. but that's not "IT" -- "IT" is something different, something unexplainable. you can meet plenty of people you get along with, plenty of people that you can have a great connection with -- but it doesn't mean you necessarily get that feeling that i'm referring to. but i guess which should come first, if at all - the connection or the spark? can the spark come later, after the connection has been established? or if "IT" isn't there in the beginning, is it just not meant to be?

in my experience, having that "IT-ness" there in the beginning makes for a passionate relationship...especially if you keep the "IT" factor in play. but then those relationships have crashed and burned. is that coincidence, or is there a common thread? is it better to have a connection in other ways--morals, values, career goals, life goals -- and then hope the "IT" comes...or do you hold out for the whole package, that instant spark and pasion along with everything else you're looking for? girls...help me out! xo

8 comments:

l.blue said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
l.blue said...

I believe (not that it's actually happened to me, but I'm gonna be optimistic) that it is possible for the spark to come after the initial meeting. You always hear about people who had been friends forever before they realized that, really, they were meant to be more than just friends. And I believe that it is precisely this spark or this "IT" factor, as you have so aptly named it, that leads to the leap from the friends-zone to the more-than-friends-zone.

Without that extra, inexplicable something, how could you form any real romantic attraction? This is more than just finding someone physically attractive - we all know that that (unfortunately) is simply not enough on which to base a successful, functional relationship. And after talking to that pretty boy and realizing that he must never actually have learned to read, the spark will most definitely be lost. On the other hand, after having a real connection with someone despite the lack of any sparks, getting along, and having a lot of things in common, you may find that you just never looked at him the right way to notice the sparks. Sometimes upon reevaluation you can discover that the "IT" factor does, in fact, exist. Sometimes it just takes that second look. And sometimes there just really are no sparks to be found. In that case, you're just shit out of luck because I'm pretty positive there is no way to inorganically manufacture them. Um, but if there is, hook a sister up.

But what the hell do I know?

Mo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mo said...

Girl, I can only speak from my experience too. The truth is, I've NEVER felt the spark with anyone I've dated - long-term or otherwise. For me, it took a couple of dates, or what's more the case, me becoming friends first and GROWING into my feelings (and the proverbial "spark.") My physical/sexual attraction to a guy is automatically on pilot-light, and it has to take my getting to know him for it to really "ignite" into "the flames of passion" LOL.

But here's what I can tell you, and I feel like it won't help you as much as I would like, but still:

The spark DOES exist and to an extent it IS important. You need this spark to keep passion in the relationship, otherwise, it's nothing but a friendship. This is what you feel when you meet a guy and there are certain compatibilities but no "oomph." This guy is basically a friend. HOWEVER, I don't think the spark needs to happen right away, and this is where I totally agree with Lindsay. With some people it happens right away and with others, not until much much later.

The sexual fire and passion, in truth, will always ... not really WANE... but CHANGE within a relationship. In the end what really makes a relationship strong and gives it the potential to last is the underlying friendship, trust, tenderness and commitment you have with your man. If both of you are willing and ACTING on making it work, then it will. After a few years, this includes making an effort to make your sex life/passion work too. (The honeymoon phase goes away relatively quickly and it takes a couple more and more effort and creativity over the years to keep it interesting.) All in all, if the guy isn't someone that, removed from a romantic relationship, you can see yourself being best friends with, then I feel it won't work in the long run. In one sentence: Relationships take work.

To that extent, I feel you're doing really well. You're giving guys that you don't feel the spark with right away a second - even third- chance. If however, after a few dates, you really feel, deep down in your gut, that it will never become that "something else", then be honest with yourself and with that guy and tell him so. I can't give you an exact time frame of what you should do and how many dates you should go on. It really changes with how you feel internally and with the guy himself. Sometimes it takes him doing or saying something extraordinary. Sometimes it takes you giving yourself a night to "sleep on it". Whatever. Dating and relationships don't have hard and fast rules, no matter what other people might say.

What you SHOULDN'T do, however, is MAKE a guy into your ideal. If there's the initial spark but then over the course of a month or two, you pick signs of the asshole such as he's not willing to discuss issues that concern you, doesn't commit enough time to the relationship, etc., then it's not worth more of your time or effort. This DOES NOT mean end it if a guy is not perfect. No one is. It's really striking the balance: I've read that a man being 100% perfect will never happen - a perfect mate is someone who is 75%-85% "perfect." The 15-25% "imperfection" is all those habits and idiosyncracies that you're willing to live with... So I feel a great relationship is made up of something like 20% spark, 55% compatibility, trust, tenderness and friendship and 25% acceptance, tolerance, and compromise.

Well, I've written too long. I can talk forever about this, obviously. You don't have to take my advice at all and that's your prerogative. In the end, it's really what you feel is right - both for you and for the relationship you would want to have.

dj said...

both of your advice are completely dead on. ultimately i think it comes down to this tricky science intended to torment us singletons. (jk) but really, i do get your point and (hope) that one day it will just hit me. i think going with your gut is the way to go -- not necessarily you're immediate gut - cause i know that's been wrong before too. i guess there's a fine line between getting to know someone and seeing what's up - but knowing when to cut it and not lead the guy on...when really, that is not my intention at all -- i'm just trying to see if anything develops. but mo is right, as soon as you know, it's better just to let it go. and i'm not about trying to force the fit so to speak. i think either it just works or it doesn't, and maybe this whole dating/ relationship/ ackward shit you have to go through really shouldn't be all that complicated. (and btw, i've officially decided my friends -- this includes you two-- are simply the Shit.) xo

T!! said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
T!! said...

I'd also like to add that there are different kinds of sparks and it's extremely important to recognize the differences between them.

There is the "primal spark" where you look at a guy and you just feel like pouncing on him.

There's the "slow burn" where you kind of like him at first and realize every time you talk to him that you like him more and more. Guys who are in the 5-7 range on the 10 point scale who are awesome people or guys who "aren't your type" tend to fall here.

And then there's the "I-could-talk-to-you-for-hours-but-only-talk pilot light". These guys are ones that you immediately like but the thought of making out with them doesn't really occur to you. These are the hardest to deal with as you're not always sure what to do with them. These guys usually end up in the friend zone.

I think that there is a certain amount of attraction with everyone you care about, friends included - you're attracted to their personalities, their style, the way the make you feel happy when you're with them, except it's completely not sexual. And when you meet someone, friends included, you can usually tell if you truly like them or if you like hanging out with them, but there's something off or if you'd rather poke yourself in the eye than talk to them.

I'll use Mo as my example of this. Within a couple days of meeting each other at work, we immediately started hanging out a lot. As friends, we just clicked and we both knew it. The difference is that friendship doesn't cloud one's vision like "potential love" does. You don't project your wishes on a friend in that manner nor do you over-analyze everything that happens. It simply is what is is and develops naturally, free of whatever hang-ups or expectations you may have.

Too bad it's so hard to interact with potential boyfriends like that.

l.blue said...

first of all, i'm glad to know that i am now officially considered "the shit."

secondly, T!! said: "too bad it's so hard to interact with potential boyfriends like that." so wouldn't the trick, then, when getting to know this person, be to just think of him as a PERSON? Just a person whose company you might enjoy - not a boy (*twirl pig-tailed hair and giggle into the palm clasped over your mouth while passing note reading "do you like me? check yes or no."*), not a potential date - just a new friend. how in the HELL you could eliminate all that extra shit from the equation, i don't know. quite frankly, i doubt it's possible. but maybe you just try to approximate the friend scenario as much as possible. or maybe that's totally insane and not at all what you should be thinking. hmmm...

and lastly, they really need to have some sort of edit option, because look at all the deleted comments. hilarious! actually, that's probably not all that funny to people who are not me.