In Honor of Valentines

Valentines Day is a weird day for me. With very few exceptions, I’m usually single this time of the year (mostly due to me prioritizing my efforts on school and work), and, while I feel alone, I tend to get used to it. I’m generally a solitary guy, so as much as I do want to find the girl of my dreams, I’m used to it - not content, but used to it. With that in mind though, if I could date the girl of my dreams, who would she be and what would I do on this day known for romance?

The Girl:
As much as this sounds cliche, when envisioning the ideal girl I would like to get married to, I don’t envision physicality. Sure, if she looks hot that is totally a plus, but to be honest it’s not that much of a priority to me. With that being said though, the first thing I’m looking for is someone who, while very kind-hearted, is very much a take-charge person. While this might be probably be due to the fact that I’m a pretty passive and agreeable guy in most situations, it is also because frankly I want someone who is there to help me become the man that Heavenly Father wants me to be and the future father my children deserve. I want someone who is frankly a little “nerdy”: someone who enjoys having conversations about movies, comics, video games… you name it. If they have musical abilities, I would also like someone who could share in my interests in music: someone who likes participating in local bands/choirs and loves to uplift others through the gift of music. Most importantly, though, I am looking for someone who has a testimony of the gospel - someone who is from a faithful Latter-day Saint family who, like me, wants to raise our children in the Church - the one thing that helped me out when trouble struck my life as a teenager and the one thing which I know can help my children in the various trails they will face in life. Overall, I personally am looking for someone who is outgoing and loving; someone who loves talking about geeky stuff and sharing their talents with the world; someone who won’t let anything be placed between them and the Holy Ghost.

The Date:
For Valentines, I really don’t know what I would do. On the one hand, because I tend to like going big when it comes to dates, perhaps I’d take her to a fancy dinner or, better yet, someplace I know she loves. Maybe I’d spend money on tickets to a concert or theatre production over at the local university - ending off the evening conversing on our thoughts on the show and what we liked or disliked about it. Or, perhaps, maybe I’d do something simple: knowing how busy I am this time of year and how busy she might be, too, I might instead opt for a homecooked meal that I prepared - choosing to end off the date with a conversation about each of our days and a film that, admittedly, she might like more than I do.

While I recognize that these are hypotheticals and will probably not happen this year, I wouldn’t lie when I say I wish this was my life at the moment. While I know I should be content in my status life at the moment, I won’t lie when I say that there might be more I could do if I sincerely wanted to find that special someone. Still, though, rather than dreaming about the things I wish I had at this point in my life, maybe I should be a little more grateful of the blessings the Lord has already given me. Whether it be the life experiences I have had thus far in my life time, the blessing of being in a great university such as BYU, or the mere people the Lord has already blessed me to associate with, each of these are small and simple blessings which I should not take for granted. Maybe, if I really want to get out of this rut of singlehood, I could also exercise a bit more confidence in myself by actually taking the time to get to know those I surround myself with on a daily basis. Whether it be in my classes, my workplace, or even my ward, there are many people I know whose faces I recognize but have never tried to actually get to know. Maybe I could also try to get out of my comfort zone by sharing those gifts which the Lord has blessed me with. For instance, I hear on almost a weekly basis people commenting about how good my voice sounds. Maybe I could try to share this gift of music more somehow? Regardless, while these are my eventual hopes and dreams when I find that special someone, until then I should do all I can to make the best out of my situation.

To close off this week’s thoughts, here’s a good scripture from the Book of Mormon I could take into my life this week: "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” (2nd Nephi 25:23)