...If you want it, why not get it? (p.s. you knew it was coming)

I've always been taught to go after what I wanted. Figure out what it takes to get it, and (if it's worth it) do it. It was all easy enough until what I wanted became people, and not things. Obviously more complicated - unlike an A on a test, the pursuit and conquest ;-) is not a one sided feat; but I think there is more to be said. I don't approach the pursuit the same way. I guess, even in the aftermath of the women's liberation movement, they forgot to stop feeding us the damned fairytales. So no, women don't sit in the castle waiting on our knight in shining armor anymore, but we're still sitting. And most of us (I'm guilty) still want the knight...& in the shining armor.

So we're not stuck waiting in our parent's houses anymore, but we are waiting. We're just waiting in our own houses, condos, or vacation homes; at the job, at work functions...wherever we can "happen" to run into Mr. Right. Why are we still waiting instead of approaching dating like we approach everything else? When we're going after a job, we do whatever it takes to get our resume in order. We go on the interview and say what the employer wants to hear. We sell ourselves, we emphasize everything that we have that makes us perfect for this job & we downplay all of our flaws, including the ones that are purely perceptional. Once we get the job, we work hard to keep it as long as we are ultimately getting out of it what we want and need. If nothing else, the valuable skills to move on to a job that is better suited to fitting our developing & sometimes changing wants and needs. We wear the clothes, we walk the walk, we talk the talk. Of course we compromise. We compromise our appearance, our attitudes, and sometimes even our integrity.

With finding and keeping a man this seems like a compromise that we shouldn't make. There was a time I looked down on women who would do anything to get a man. Don't get me wrong, I still think there's a limit, but I look at it slightly differently now. Perhaps part of the reason it feels so different is because there should be some realm where we get to be completely ourselves; where we get to shed the world and have people love and accept us for everything that we are and are not. It's a tough order. Who do we completely love and accept for all that they are and aren't that isn't family? Nobody, at least not immediately. So from now on, I'm going to approach relationships the same way I approach jobs. Or, at least dating, like interviews. I will put my best foot forward, be competitive, and snag the man. I'll be the ideal girl then I'll stop putting in work once I get tenure ;). haha...jk