Online Dating.

04/18/2009

My boyfriend will be here for a month. Which maybe normal for most girls, but for me it's a major event. My boyfriend lives in Florida while I'm stuck in the slums of Ohio.

People are always talking about the dangers of online dating.

I met my boyfriend online almost three years ago through a friend of mine that I've only chatted online with. We got to know each other and I wasn't really for dating online. But it was something close to a magnet  that drew me closer to him. ^{weird since we're so far apart.} I got to know him and it didn't take long for us to agree that we should meet up and have a relationship. So I met him and I remember being so nervous and anxious that day. Not once did I think that maybe this guy was an axe murderer. Instead I was more worried about what his first impression of me would be, or how my hair was a little bit too frizzy that day.

Being the insecure coward I am instead of facing him normally I dove down behind a chair in front of a Wendy's that just happened to be there in the Airport. My mom rolled her eyes and got impatient with me telling that I looked silly hiding behind a chair in a public area. I told her to hide with me and she made funny faces at me. She refused.

And I recognized him as soon as he got off of the plane. He had a sparkly Lego Hip Hop shirt on with big head phones and baggy jeans. I think everyone turned around to stare at him because of how different he looked. I lost my breath for a few minutes. He looked around confused, and completely unaware of these new surroundings. Finally I decided to pop out from behind my chair and I said his name a few times loudly drawing even more attention to myself. He stopped and stared at me for a few minutes and there was a big goofy smile on his face.

He didn't say anything to me he just kept walking closer and closer. I was so nervous my hands started to shake. He came over and hugged me so tightly I thought my lungs were going to collapse. My mom being the big sap she is almost squealed in delight. She had to come with me in case my life was in danger. I wasn't concerned about my life. I was concerned about what he thought of me. And only when I realized that this man was a total stranger and could be potentially dangerous, I already knew that he would never hurt me.

Unfortunately these things don't happen to all girls. Some girls have paid the price for my mistake. The mistake of thinking it's alright to be young and meet people you don't even really know.

So is Online Dating really a bad thing? Ever since that day I've seen my love several times. And every time I go back to that airport I have the same fuzzy feelings, and every time I take him back to go home I always cry for hours. It's unhealthy when you look at it. That sometimes I miss him so much I can't even concentrate. This is the longest I've been away from him and I will squish him so tightly his eyeballs will pop out of his head when he gets here next week.

Always take caution when you're meeting someone online. I could have easily been harmed during this situation. Now that I look back on it, even though I know it's just the person I'm head over heals for. . .I shouldn't have been so careless. That's our first mistake in these situations.

I'm hearing more and more stories about girls who fall into these traps. It worries me because we have children living here and they think it's okay since I met my love online. I try to express to them that not everyone out there is as good as him, and that there are definitely people out there that could try to harm them.

But how to spread this message more effectively alone seems hopeless. Whenever I talk to younger people online I always try to tell them to be careful in chat rooms. It was upon deaf ears of course.

Please be careful out there.

Then again try to remember that not every story is a BAD story. I'm proof of that and so are many other couples that have met online.

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 _{^{thanks to all of the people that commented me yesterday. i would have replied to them if i knew what i was doing on here. which i really don't know. XD}}