Recently, on one of our post-lunch walks back to the office, my best friend George told me that he’s proud of me and thinks I’m incredibly brave to put myself out there. He said if he were single, he wouldn’t be able to muster up the energy nor the courage to do what I do. And what is it that I do exactly? I put myself out there. Where is this magnificently vague ‘there’ you ask? I believe it’s notoriously known as the dating arena and I am one of those gladiators in the Colosseum waiting for the unknown that is released from its cages, anticipating the charge and the battle that follows. *so dramatic I know* Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. The degree of loss varies too, of course – anywhere from licking some mild wounds to being mauled to shreds and barely coming out of it alive. And yet, you persist.

George (who is very happily in a relationship) tells me my openness to meeting new people and going out on dates to find the love of my life is commendable. Bless him, but is it really? It hit me then perhaps, it could frankly be a lot more convenient to not date? I don’t know – at least that way, you could sit back, fold your arms, shrug and be completely nonchalant because you simply don’t have the time, interest nor energy to meet new people and risk being bored or worse, grossly let down; No palpitations, no battles, no wounds and I suppose, no excitement – The positive power of negative thinking, I believe this is called.

In life, we are constantly faced with the decision to either chase or be chased. This relates to everything from jobs, relationships to friendships. Some of us are go-getters while some of us believe that things happen for a reason and let the universe run its course.

Herein lies the problem. I am incapable of sitting back and letting things simply happen. I don’t have the time nor the patience for this. Being a go-getter calls for optimism, and I am an eternal optimist. Optimism is often seen as the source of all good. When you are optimistic, boundaries don’t exist for anything you desire to accomplish; sounds more like a double edged sword if you ask me. Optimism is what gets you to pack your bags and fly across the pacific ocean at the age of 24 to meet a boy whose smile you thought could light up the darkest of tunnels. Optimism is what makes you pick up your phone and be the first to tell someone that you like them. Optimism is what fuels you to keep getting back on the swing and look for love, even when the universe continues to fill you knees deep in sheer disappointment.

Being a go-getter should have its perks but I’m still figuring that part out and waiting to see if its benefits can be reaped. Till then, I’ll do what I do best, which is to keep on marchin’ with my best boots on, rose-tinted glasses donned and a net in hand.