Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Great Expectations

Hello Loves!

Today I am extra excited about the upcoming events. Why, you might ask? Well in a few weeks I'll be turning the BIG 2-5. Now for some, this day may be bittersweet. It may represent an end to your youth or the beginning of a new journey. I think it all depends on where you are in your life. Are you satisfied with your choices and have you learned from the mistakes of your youth? Are you headed in the right direction to meet your goals? Have you met them already? Do you even have any?? If you would’ve asked me a year ago how I thought I would feel about turning 25 I probably would've started crying uncontrollably! LOL Needless to say, I wasn't headed in the right direction to meet my goals. To fully understand how I came to feel the way I feel now about turning 25, I have to tell you a little bit about who I was then.

I graduated from college about 3 years ago (December 2007 to be exact) at the very start of The Great Recession, according to economist. Almost as soon as I walked across the stage I landed my first job. I told myself when I got the job that I would continue looking for work more closely related to my field, something that made me happy. However, after four months of looking for a job with no results I slowly became more comfortable at my job. I pushed my dreams aside because the news, friends, and the WORLD told me that I was lucky to even be working during these times. For a while I was working off the high of having a have a job straight out of college and having a steady income...I felt secure. But after a while I became resentful about the work I had to do and the time it was consuming.

Ironically, just two months away from my third year at my job I got the dreaded call to the back office. I was being let go! The first person I called was my mom. After my rant of confusion, anger, shock, and a whole lot of inaudible sobbing, my mom said to me, "Elise, this may be a blessing...you said you weren't doing what you really wanted to do, now you have your chance." Ahhh, isn't a mother's wisdom golden?

She was right. I had spent the last three years of my life running on a treadmill. Granted I did gain valuable experience and met wonderful people but being let go was not a bad thing. That part of my life was over. The lessons that were there for me were learned and it was time for me to move on; Time for me to pursue what I really wanted. Now I really haven't been happier since college. I haven't found my dream job yet but I'm making the steps toward it and I won't make the mistake again of letting the comfort of security hold me back from being happy with what I really want.

After giving it more thought I realized that you should apply this mindset to every aspect of life. Even love. Don't settle for less than what you really want just because it's the "safe" or "secure" thing to do. I know that is easier said than done, but really when you do that, in the end you just wind up resentful. To be honest, the dating scene in Atlanta is dismal. I have a wonderful boyfriend of nearly 4 years now but many of my closest friends are single and I see the challenges they are up against. The ratio of men to women is egregious and of those available men…let just say a girl is gonna have to do her fair share of frog kissing to find her prince. It’s not uncommon for a single woman in her late 20s to 30s to hear another woman (be it her friend, mother, aunt, sister, grocery store clerk, etc.) tell her that her standards are too high and that’s why she is still single. “Lower your standards,” they say. Really? Is that what we must do now in order to find happiness in love…lower our standards??

Susan Page, author of “If I’m So Wonderful, Why Am I Still Single?”addresses this very issue brilliantly. She states:

"Actually, lowering your standards is impossible to do anyway. Your ideals and fantasies are what they are. It is not possible to alter them by an act of will, to simply wake up one day and say, 'Well I changed my mind. Now I don’t care whether the person I date is communicative.' It’s like asking a leopard to change its spots. You may tell yourself you have lowered your standards, but the real ones are always there – lurking somewhere in the background. "

All in all, there is no such thing in lowering your standards. But instead, what we should do is take the time to find out what our high standards really are. There’s an experiment in the book that I want to share with you all and encourage you to do.

A. On paper, describe your ideal mate. List all every little quality you’d like them to have. Take your time and include EVERYTHING. There is no need to be realistic or censor yourself.

B. Go back over your list and place either an “E” for essential or “D” for desirable next to each item.

C. List all “E” qualities on a separate page in order of their importance to you.

D. Draw a line under the top 5 items on the “E” list.

These are your standards. These are the things you must not compromise. They are what is important to you and will not change. If you get a chance share them with the rest of the Alls Fair in Love followers. I’ll share mine too!

Until next time…remember high standards or not, Alls Fair In Love!

Xoxo
Elise Alls
allsfairnlove@gmail.com

Friday, June 18, 2010

A Change Is Coming

Hello Loves!

I hope your week was, well...lovely! Mine was amazing. It's definitely summer time and love is in the (100 degree) air. Every time I turn around someone is getting engaged, married, finding new love, etc. I can't help but think it’s the change in weather that is responsible for heating up everyone's love life (pun intended). Even those who I thought would never find what they were looking for have stumbled upon their "perfect match".

I got a call from an old friend a few weeks ago and as we were catching up she told me she had a new beau. So my interest was immediately peaked. One, because anyone who knows me knows I'm extremely nosey (now there's some alliteration for ya)...and two, because to say this girl has bad luck with men would be the understatement of the century. So, as all these types of conversations go, I begin to ask the predictable and essential questions; "Where'd you meet?" "What does he do?" "How long have you been seeing him?" You know the drill. To give you the quick and dirty, he's an accountant who graduated from a University in his hometown. They met while she was visiting friends for the holidays there and they've been seeing each other since. He comes from a very conservative and religious family.

So this guy seems okay, right? WRONG! I've known this girl for at least 10 years and there is not one thing conservative or religious about her. She is a liberal to the fullest degree and in every sense of the word. If they were still burning bras in the middle of the street this girl would be leading the pack. I don't ever remember her setting foot inside a church, synagogue, mosque, or cathedral, and to say her sexual past was a little sketchy would be a compliment. Now don't get me wrong, she's a great friend but needless to say, sometimes I did worry about her frequent reckless behavior. And now she’s dating Mr. Straight-and-Narrow??? I really hate to say this, but as soon as she tells me about this guy I’m thinking this won’t last. Although, she has been known to change her persona to fit into her current love-interest’s ideal image of the perfect girlfriend…this guy was on the total opposite end of the spectrum. I foresee too many arguments…to many differences in opinion on fundamental beliefs. How could this work?

Fast forward to last weekend. My friend comes down to visit and we go out to catch up. I begin to order our first round of cocktails when she stops me mid-order. “I don’t drink anymore” she says. WOW! This is great. We have all been encouraging her to stop for a while but she has refused to admit there was a problem. I thought to myself how mature she has become. As the night continued I discovered even more changes in my friend. She had done a complete 180! Her political views, interests, and beliefs had all changed. Some of the change was good for her but some were just too out of character for her that I began to get a little worried. It was obvious Mr. Straight-and-Narrow was the source of the change. All her sentences began with, “Well, my boyfriend doesn’t think I should…” or “My boyfriend thinks….and I agree.”

Even though the changes she had made were for the most part positive, I couldn’t fully be happy for her despite my most sincere attempts. I guess I felt like the changes weren’t made because she decided that it was best for her, or that her eyes were open to a better and healthier way of life, but more so because she wanted to please someone else. She changed her world so she could exist in his. She wasn’t being true to herself or her beliefs. And to me, she was doing an injustice to not only herself but to him also. I mean, how long can you keep up the charade?? Eventually, if you haven’t changed for the right reasons, your true colors will begin to show.

So after much thought I decided to bring up my concerns to my friend. To my surprise, she responded with assuredness and clarity that sometimes in a relationship, if you really love someone, you have to give up a part of yourself in order to coexist peacefully. “It’s called compromise Elise,” she said derisively. Well, what more could I say after that. She’s made up her mind and I’ve learned from the ongoing feud between Heidi and Lauren, never to start an argument with a friend over who they’re dating. I guess time will only tell if she’s right or wrong…but it does bring up a good point; There is a thin line between compromise and sacrifice. Especially at the age of 25-30 and living in Atlanta where the men to women ratio is practically 20-80. Compromising is just part of the territory. But how much are we willing to compromise to find someone…enough to eventually lose ourselves??

Well there’s some food for thought for all my single ladies out there. Just remember while you’re navigating the mean streets singledom…Alls Fair In Love!

Xoxo

Elise Alls
AllsFairNLove@gmail.com

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A Brave New World

Welcome Loves!

Today I am in a reflective mood. I've been thinking all day about how I got to where I am now. Financially, spiritually, and emotionally. My journey to the present has been an eventful one. I've changed so much from that 16 year old girl who believed everything in a relationship should be 50/50, to the now 24 year old woman who knows sometimes in a relationship, at some point, one partner will most likely have to give 60/40 or 75/25. I've learned in a mature relationship there will be compromises and times when one person will have to support the other just little more, whether it is emotionally or financially. But real men and women who have real love and respect for each other will grow together during those times, as opposed to tearing each other down. It’s funny how life can do that to you, isn't it?? How you can believe something your whole life and then one experience can change your mind or open your eyes. Sometimes though, I wonder, "Is it me that's changing, or the world around me...or both?"

I had a conversation with this girl a few weeks ago (we'll call her Testy-Tessa) and she told me her and her boyfriend of 3 months had not yet had sex. I thought to myself, "Wow, it's rare to see a relationship these days that go on that long without sex...kudos to you for making him wait!" Luckily, that was just a thought as it was not the case! As it turns out, Tessa told her boyfriend they could not have sex until he got tested. By the way, did I mention that they have been dating for 3 months now?? So needless to say, the test had not been taken. Apparently the guy was not comfortable with taking the test. He had never been asked to do this before and felt, I guess the best word is, insulted?

I thought about this for a while. My first reaction was that it’s smart on Tessa's part to demand that before they start their physical relationship they need to get tested. Then I thought back to when I was a freshman in college. Would I have felt the same way then? I remember distinctly having a conversation with a friend in college who refused to simply ask her boyfriend about his sexual past. She would say, "The past is the past girl...I don't want or need to know who he's been with before me!" "Just make sure you're safe...no need to have that in the back of your mind." To be honest I kind of bought into that...for a very brief moment. But my point is, if I heard someone say that today I would think they were gambling with their life. I had to ask myself, is this a sign that the world has just gotten too sexually brazen, so much so that it is now the norm for the first test of the relationship to be an STD test. Was the guy completely justified to be taken aback by such a demand? Or are we just older and wiser now. Are we now mature enough to not be afraid to get straight to the point and ask "how many?", "how long ago?", and "when was your last test?"

I never did find out if Testy-Tessa got what she was asking for, but I’m sure she didn’t think that her demands would lead to her will power being the one ultimately getting tested! Tessa if you’re reading this, stay strong girl…and remember, Alls Fair in Love!

WHAT THE EXPERTS HAVE TO SAY: Today I’m going to pull from the book “Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man” by Steve Harvey. At one point in the book Steve talks about how a man feels when a woman asks for details about his past. He says “Yes –it makes us uncomfortable…still you have the right to know about your man’s past.” He goes on to stress that timing is everything. You’re probably not going to want to ask a guy on the first date how many people he has slept with and when was the last time he got tested…at least not a guy you plan on keeping around for long. So when is the right time to ask these questions? Well that is a matter of when you plan on being intimate with this person…and that’s a WHOLE other story for another day! 

Xoxo,

Elise
AllsFairNLove@gmail.com

Sunday, June 6, 2010

So What's This All About??

Hello Loves and welcome to my blog...where "Alls Fair in Love";)

It would only be proper for me to formally introduce myself seeing as all decent relationships begin with a "Hi, My name is...". So...Hi! My name is Elise Alls (hence the "Alls" in the title). I came up with the concept for this blog after one of many "girl-talk" sessions that my friends and I have every time we get together. The subject matter of our infamous "girl-talks" is as diverse and humorous as we are. But without fail, one topic that always comes up is our love life...also VERY diverse.

I realized that many times after having girl-talk that I had discovered something new about myself, love, sex, or relationships in general. Rather it was through verbalizing my own thoughts or hearing the thoughts of my closest girlfriends; the girl-talks made me understand other female's views, struggles, insecurities, strengths, and triumphs with love, which in a way helped me better understand why I view love the way I do. It's almost like therapy without the monthly bill. Then I got to thinking...how awesome would it be to have girl-talk on a grander scale. Sharing advice, stories (sad and happy), love tips and remedies (good or bad) with women from all different backgrounds and walks of life. How enlightening...and not to mention interesting, would that be???

So I decided to create a blog that did just that...but I thought it should be more than just strangers weighing in on each other love/sex/relationship issues. Although some of the best advice can come from your best friend, there's nothing like knowing what the experts have to say, right? So I went out and did the research! I've read over 15 of the top love, sex and relationship books, articles, and blogs and have their infinite wisdom at my disposal to share with you! So lets girl-talk! Email your stories/questions to me and I'll post them along with feedback from the experts. Share your thoughts on others stories and questions and hopefully at the end of it all we'll learn something new about ourselves.

So again, welcome to my blog…and remember “Alls Fair in Love”!

xoxo

Elise
AllsFairNLove@gmail.com