This blog has been unfiltered and candid in its content, getting to the core of my heart and mind in a way that few have heard or seen me express in person. It has been an open journal, and a view into my life. This blog has been filled with many trials and frustrations in my life, and so I choose to end it with this; a happy story that hopefully brings resolution to my blog.
I have contemplated writing a blog post for quite some time, but feel that now is the opportunity for me to share my thoughts, feelings and the story of how I met Jenoa.
Wow. Where do I begin? The story starts in September 2013, my Junior year at the University of Utah. During this time, I had decided to switch from an economics degree to a marketing degree, and was taking all business prerequisite so that I could get into the school of business the next semester. One of the classes that I ended up taking was Geography of China, a class I wasn't particularly thrilled about, but that I had to take because the other elective I chose was filled. Boy, oh boy am I glad I couldn't get into the other class now! As usual, the first few days of class, I started looking around the room seeing who all was in the class, if I knew anybody, if there were any cute girls around, and I instantly noticed her. She was sitting on the right side of the class, wearing this grey/silver dress with long brown hair. She looked so pretty. No girls on campus dressed like this. And I mean none. She had class written all over her, and I could not stop looking over at her during class. I don't remember a single thing that was mentioned in class, but I do remember the way she looked and how she grabbed my attention.
Now, I am not a person to make my way over and sit by a cute girl, mostly because I didn't ever think anything would come of it. But when it came to Geography of China, I remembered where this girl sat and made sure next class to make my way over and sit by her. This was new and exciting, and my heart was pounding. I hoped I was sitting in the right spot and that she would sit where she did last time. As class was about to start, she walked in, went over to the area I was sitting in, and sat down near me, at the end of the row. I was thrilled! Plan complete! Kind of. I hadn't yet talked to her, and couldn't figure out how to start a conversation with her. I couldn't just talk to her during class because we had to listen to lecture. So I hoped that something would happen in class where I could make a comment to her about how boring class was, or now interesting a subject was, or something, but nothing ever happened that could give me an excuse to talk to her. That is, until the end of class, when our professor announced that we had a group project coming up soon and that we needed to start finding groups. This was perfect. Class had just ended, and I made sure to follow her out of the class room. I casually caught up to her, introduced myself, and said that we should be in a group for the project. She agreed, and told me her name; Jenoa. I didn't understand her the first few times she said it, and don't think I really know her name until we met again in class and could find a way to see her name again.
So, we started working on our project together, and made small talk here and there after class. I would always notice that she doodled on her note page, and didn't really take any notes. I figured it meant she was smart and didn't have to take notes to get good grades.
During this time, I ran into a few of my friends on campus, and they were going to the Hinckley Institute of Politics to check out possible internships and they invited me to come along. I wasn't going to go, but then they mentioned there would be free pizza there, so I could get a free lunch. I decided to go. When I got there, I looked around and picked up brochures about going on an international internship and thought that would be pretty cool to do. I didn't think much of it, until as we were leaving, my friends asked me if I was going to do it. I wasn't sure. I would look into it, but didn't have any real plans to do it. However, when I got home, I started looking at internships all throughout Europe that involved some sort of business aspect, but they were near impossible to find. They said one would be opening up in Paris soon, but that it wouldn't start until the summer, which wasn't going to help me. So then I decided to look into the D.C. internships. I had never been out east, and that could be fun as well. I had no idea what D.C. was like, but I started to look more into it. Somehow, I ended up getting everything done on time that I needed to in order to apply for the D.C. internship, and then it was waiting time. I had no idea if I would make it, but felt that by applying for the winter semester I would have a better chance of being accepted than any other time of year. As it turns out, I was right, and I was accepted into the internship program. I would be heading to the nations capital next semester!
Now, what does this have to do with the rest of the story? Well, you see, it turns out that Jenoa also happened to apply for an internship in Washington D.C., and that she also happened to get accepted in. Neither of us had talked to each other about our intentions of doing an internship in D.C., and I was not stalking her (despite what she might tell you otherwise).
One day in early October, I received an email from the director of the internship program informing me that I needed to set up an interview with her to talk about which internship I wanted to do, and that I needed to schedule a time slot. As I looked at the names of the other interns who would be going, I happened to notice that there was an intern named Jenoa heading to D.C. that same semester. Can you image how excited I became at that moment? I had to play it cool though, because I barely knew her, but I knew that she was cool and cute. When I got to class next time, she brought it up and asked if I was going to D.C. next semester, I said yes, and she said that she was too!
Throughout the rest of the semester, we had small talk, asked each other about D.C. and school, but never got into anything too amazing. I had her number because of our group projects, but we would text now and again, too. I really wanted to ask her out on a date, but at the same time I didn't want to ruin any opportunity that I might have in D.C. of going out with her. But I still wanted to get to know her better, so I invited her to a Christmas party that David and I were going to host. However, the party fell through, and I told her it was no longer happening. Apparently she was very excited to go to the party, as I later found out.
Well, the semester came to an end, and with it the New Year came around. Jenoa was headed to NYC for the celebration, and I was heading to D.C. just a few days later. I told her I would see her there, and it was off to the east coast!
Now, getting to D.C., I didn't know anybody in the internship besides Jenoa. I didn't even know Jenoa that well, but simply knowing that we had worked on a couple group projects together and had sat by each other all semester, it was nice to have a familiar face there, and it lead to an instant connection. She had only been there a day before I asked her if she wanted to go out and explore the city with me!
It was all so exciting living in a new city, exploring it with a cool girl, and running around having fun. We walked along the mall, saw the Washington Monument, went up to the Treasury and Whitehouse, and then decided to head back to the apartments. We hung out a couple of times after that, talked a little bit, but we weren't always sure what to say to each other. You know, we still didn't know each other that well. But yet, we still planned a lot of activities together, and we went around the town quite a bit together.
Well, after only being in town for a week, we decided to plan a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, that ended up evolving into a trip all the way down to Savannah, Georgia because Jenoa had a friend that lived there. We invited a few people along, but only Hannah, Jenoa's friend, ended up coming along with.
You know, at this time, I had no idea who Jenoa really was. I knew that she was down to earth, she was easy going, nice, and that I enjoyed being around her. But we hadn't had a real break through moment yet in our friendship. There was still some ice breaking that needed to be done, and I saw this trip as an opportunity for both of us to open up a bit and to see what she was really like. I also really liked the fact that she was wanting to go on this trip even thought we didn't know each other that well! A good sign of spontaneity and a person that likes to have fun! So after work on Friday, we went back to the apartments, got our stuff, headed out to the airport, and got our rental car. It was off to South Carolina! We drove all night in the dark, listening to music and talking! Jenoa started to act a little silly, something I had never seen out of her before. Every time we drove past a sign that said Myrtle Beach she would get ridiculously excited and yell out "Myrtle Beach!?" It made me laugh, and with each passing moment, she started to become more and more attractive.
We got down to Savannah, walked around, took pictures, and the whole time I was learning more and more about who Jenoa was, what she liked, and that she was funny. Now that is not something you always get in a girl, but Jenoa knew how to be funny. During the whole trip, I started to see a side of Jenoa that I had never seen before, and it was all good. Everything she did seemed to be perfect, and I couldn't believe it. I had never met a girl like this that fit all the expectations I had in my head! I didn't think a girl like that existed. I was in awe, and I really wanted to cuddle with her while we were down there, but that never happened. I was falling for her hard. I don't think she had any idea at this point how into her I was. But wow, I just wanted to walk next to her, be next to her, talk to her. It was like the rest of the world vanished and Jenoa was the only thing that was going on.
I don't even know if I could believe that life was real at that moment. I was in Georgia with this amazing girl and everything was happy and exciting! But most importantly, it was real. Life was real. I was having an "Is this real life?!" moment.
After the trip, I was so into Jenoa. She had shown me the side of her that I was hoping she had, and boy was she still mysterious as ever. I knew that every time I would hang out with her, I would learn something new about her. We kept hanging out and getting to know each other more and more, and as we did so, I kept liking her more and more. I was head over heels for her, and I spent a lot of nights not being able to fall asleep because of how happy I was about the potential of something happening with her.
And then, we had this great day where we went and explored Georgetown University, and then Georgetown the neighborhood. We walked and talked and it was just the two of us. At this point in time I was dying for one-on-one time with Jenoa. I didn't want to ask her on a date yet, because I thought it might ruin my chances, but if we hung out one-on-one, it was almost like a date, but with the comfortability of being friends. And that is what we needed; friendship. We walked and talked, went and got ice cream at Thomas Sweet, then made our way down to Five Guys, and ate. During this time, we really started to open up to each other about our lives and families, topics we had never really brought up much before. In my mind, this was a big moment. Opening up is always a big moment because it shows you trust somebody, and that you feel comfortable with them. The fact that Jenoa was starting to open up to me was a good sign.
Time continued to go by, and we started to do more things together just the two of us. At the end of a day, sometimes we decided that we would want to go dancing, so we went to this Jazz club in DuPont Circle, and just danced. We didn't even touch each other. I leaned over and talked into her ear because the music was so loud, but we that was as much touching as we did. I wanted to dance with her, hold her hand, and put my arm around her as we walked back, but I couldn't get myself to do it! Things were going good...
Until a couple weeks later, when we were being extra flirty over text, Jenoa said that we should have a talk and that we should just be friends. I was devastated. This girl that I was having so much fun with just wanted to be friends. I didn't know what to say. I wanted to tell her how much more fun things would be if we were in a relationship, and how much more fun everything would be that way. Part of me was hurt and wasn't sure if I should hang out with her at all anymore if all it would lead to was heartache. But I did some thinking and decided that I was going to try and become her best friend. If I couldn't date her, I was still going to have a great time in D.C., and I knew that she was going to be a big part of the reason why it was so fun. I had to decide to get over it and still be friends. It was a good decision.
The next week after our talk, we hung out almost every night. We were texting each other non stop at this point, at work, and home, at the store, we were always talking. We had planned a trip to Philadelphia, and I knew that our friendship was already closer than anybody else we knew in D.C. And you know what? For how heartbroken I was, I think it was a good thing (in hindsight) that Jenoa had that talk with me. I think it eased some tension that was building up, and we were both able to just be ourselves. We had a lot of fun. We went to Adams-Morgan one night and went to a palm reader. It was just the two of us, and we talked and hung out all night. And I noticed that things started to get a little flirty between us, and I wasn't sure if it was real flirting, or just that we both felt so comfortable with each other that we didn't feel the pressure of trying to date.
The next day was Philadelphia, and it was time to head out early in the morning. However, I got a text from Jenoa saying she wasn't going to make it because she was feeling really sick. I was so sad at this point. I really wanted her to come because obviously I really liked her still. I wasn't sure if she wasn't going because of how flirty we were the previous night and if she was scared of me flirting with her on this trip, but based upon what I knew of her, I couldn't imagine her turning down a trip for that reason, and didn't see her as the kind to lie to get out of a situation like that.
As the day went on, I got a text from Jenoa saying that she had bought a train ticket and was headed up to Philly to hang out with us! You can only imagine my joy at that text! Hallelujah! She got up there, we all walked around Philly for a while, and then it was time to go back into the hotel. We semi put the beds together, and Jenoa was sleeping on the end of her bed which was touching my bed, and I was on the edge closest to her. I wanted so badly to snuggle with her, but knew that she just wanted to be friends. However, it was still exciting to have her sleeping close by. I loved it!
Soon, the trip was over and it was time to head back to Washington, so we went and waited at the train station. We ended up being some of the last people in line, so I didn't think any of us would get seats next to each other. I was the last of our group to go onto the bus, and I thought Jenoa would walk ahead and get a seat with the rest of the group, but she ended up waiting for me to get my ticket scanned. I liked that. Jenoa is a very thoughtful person, and always caring about everybody. So we ended up finding seats across the aisle from each other, but a man offered to give up his seat so we could sit next to each other. What a gesture! I was thrilled. I gladly accepted and moved over to sit next to Jenoa. It was a three hour ride back to D.C, and it was already pretty late at night. We would need our sleep for the next day at work, so we talked to entire way home. We talked non-stop. My voice was gone and throat was sore by the time we got back to the city. We just talked and talked and talked, and the conversation was fun the entire time. Our arms even were touching each other on the arm rest that lay in-between us. That was pretty much the first time we ever touched. I couldn't stop smiling.
After this trip, things just kept going well. Things were going good, and Jenoa started to open up even more to me. At this point she was my best friend. We were talking every day, all day. We joked, laughed, hung out all the time, stayed up until 2 in the morning every night talking before deciding we should say goodnight, go to our separate apartments and get some sleep for the next. I don't know how we functioned off of five hours of sleep, but we did. We just couldn't stop talking. It would get to midnight and we would say it is late, and then it would get to 12:30 and we would say it was late, but we would just keep talking. Then it would hit two o'clock and finally, we would make ourselves say goodbye for the night and go to bed.
Everything was going well again, and one night, we were up at her apartment and we were watching Fantastic Mr. Fox. We were being flirty this night. Jenoa accidentally broke a mug (her second one in a week) and we couldn't stop laughing about it! I kept teasing Jenoa about the questions she was asking during the movie ("How can they all live in that tree?", "Jenoa, it's a cartoon..."), and we were sitting as close as you could get without actually cuddling. We started playing a little footsie, and when the movie ended, I put my head underneath the blanket and she did too, and I just looked at her. She asked "what are we doing under here?" and I wanted to just kiss her so badly! I should have! But I didn't let myself. She just wants to be friends, I kept convincing myself, and that is how our night ended.
The next day I as on cloud nine. No, I hand't kissed her, but I felt that things were moving in the right direction, and I didn't want to mess with that. It was a snow day, and as I was going to the store I was dancing and singing to my music the whole time! But then, things started to get weird again with Jenoa. I noticed she wasn't talking to me much that day, or the next day. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. So I started talking to one of her roommates to figure out what was going on. She told me that Jenoa wanted me to kiss her, and to hold her hand, but that she was nervous. That is all I needed to hear to give me the confidence I needed. I asked Jenoa if we could talk because things had been kind of weird between us for the last few days, and I did not like that one bit. So we met a few nights later, and we sat about as far apart from each other as was humanly possible on the bench bar we were on, and we talked. Jenoa admitted that she had a crush on me (which is a big deal in Jenoa language), and that we should just kind of go with things and see how they would go. I was definitely on board for that, especially with our trip to Boston coming up next week!
And so, things got better again. The air was cleared and we were friends yet again, flirting and laughing, and taking forever into the night. And then Boston came. I had already written in my journal that I was going to kiss Jenoa in Boston, and I think every single one of the interns knew that we were going to kiss, but yet there was still some doubt. We got there, and day one passed by and no kiss or holding hands. I wanted to so badly, but was so worried that if I kissed her and she didn't want me to, that the rest of the trip would be super awkward. So then day two went by, and still no kiss or holding hands. And finally, day three came, and time was running out for kissing her in Boston. It got late at night, the clock turned to midnight and we had just finished watching a movie and I sat up, shaking, and turned to her and said "Happy St. Patricks Day" and then went in and kissed her! Oh wow! It was so magical! All the moments of anticipation leading up to this and it was amazing! I could not believe that I had just kissed her! I could not believe it one bit! My heart was dancing in my chest and I had finally kissed her!
After that moment, life in D.C. was a big dream. Jenoa and I hung out all the time, we talked all the time, we explored the city, went on late night walks, went to free concerts, explored museums and restaurants, and continued exploring Georgetown. Her family came into town, Rudi and Angela came into town, and we just made the most of every moment that we had in that city. And it was perfect.
There is still so much of the story to tell, but that is the beginning of it all. So fun, so exciting, and so happy! I couldn't be happier with the way our relationship started. I love our story. It is now a year removed since our D.C. adventure came to an end, but there are so many things that I have come to learn from Jenoa over the past year and a half.
Jenoa has a heart of gold, and has taught me so much about the importance of loving family and making them a priority in life. It's not that I didn't love my family, I always have, but I had never made them a priority like I have now, and I owe a big thank you to Jenoa for helping me see that and make that change.
I have learned a lot about ambition and reaching for the stars. Jenoa has always had a dream and always had a plan. She has helped me see the importance of having a plan and having a goal and reaching for it. I have seen how my potential has grown and changed in the time that I have known her. I know that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to with a bit of hard work and dedication. She has been an integral piece in this part of my development.
Jenoa is the most naturally good human being that I know. She isn't a good person because her family wants to be a good person, or because her friends want her to, or anybody or anything wants her to. Jenoa is a good person and because she wants to be a good person. She doesn't give in to peer pressure and won't sacrifice her morals because of what other people think. She is strong and independent, and I look up to her for her values and goodness. She is strong and has helped me learn to say no to things I don't want nor need.
Jenoa is a confident woman. She believes in herself and her talents, and knows that she can accomplish almost anything if she puts her mind to it. She doesn't doubt herself. I love that about her. Watching her has helped me learn self-confidence courage. Jenoa isn't afraid to speak her mind and will say what she needs to say.
Jenoa is funny. In fact, she is hilarious. I still don't think to this day that she knows how funny she is. She can make me laugh about anything. I admire that about her. She can be silly and weird. She is quirky. But that gives her so much personality and makes her unique and her own individual.
Jenoa is one of the best listeners I have ever met. People always feel comfortable around her because she never judges other people. People sense that and they open up to her. I know, because I did. She listens, and she cares about what you say. If everybody in the world could listen the way that Jenoa does, so many problems in the world would be resolved. I have learned how to be a better listener by watching her.
Jenoa is so caring. She hates to see sadness in the world and is always wanting to help out where she can. She wants to help the sick, the hurt, the sad, and lonely. She wants to make everything perfect for everyone and will go out of her way to do anything for the people she loves. You couldn't ask for a better friend.
I love that Jenoa expects to live life to the fullest. She wants to travel and explore, and get the most out of life. I love that she makes the most of her opportunities and grabs life by the horns. She knows that life is what you make it, and she wants to make hers great.
I have had the most wonderful time of my life, and have shared some of the best experiences of my life with Jenoa. I am so grateful for her in my life and for her friendship. Thank you, my friend, for all the joy you have brought into my life.
And so, I end this blog with the story of a wonderful beginning.
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