I guess I'm a modern man, I'm currently sitting up at 1.30 in the morning watching Sex and the City and I'm actually in a loving, extremely straight relationship. So sue me, it's funny! I suppose it's also inspired me to start writing this blog again, I love blogging, writing every day is something I plan on enforcing from now on as I realise it's the one thing I want to do with my life so I will always do it, whether I get paid pittance or total zilch, or (hopefully) the big bucks.
So it's been a while, and I guess I'd better mention the big change in my life, as will be the theme of this first blog back after my little summer break. I have a girlfriend. An extremely wonderful one called Charlotte, so when I mention a Charlotte in future blogs you'll know who she is.
I'd better start at the beginning. I warn you, only read on if you want to read about a relationship, if not, I'm afraid there's nothing for you here! I say modern man in my title because I happened to meet my girlfriend through Youtube of all places. That place where people, more often than not slightly mental people like myself post videos for a variety of reasons, music, to make people laugh, the joy of instant creation to be seen by possible millions, or - often - because they own a cat that can perform an amusing trick. I'd decided to read out a passage of 50 Shades of Grey for comedy value, Charlotte saw it when someone she was already subscribed to liked it. She followed me on Tumblr through a link I had in my description box, I saw she looked cute in her profile pic on there, plus liked The Fault in Our Stars, one of the greatest books ever written, so I messaged her. We spoke for a week straight without pause and then we met, and we kissed and four months on the conversation's still going.
Now I'm quite proud of myself. I'm not the luckiest with ladies, and finding the girl of my dreams through Youtube was certainly not how I envisioned meeting said girl of my dreams, but I did, and perfectly so. Truth is we live in a modern world, a world where it's easier than ever to meet people we would never usually meet. I'm sure a lot of people would here 'I met my girlfriend on Youtube' and think 'what?! Shock! Horror! Interrobang!*' or something of the sort. And in a way I whole-heartedly agree, there are a lot of weirdos on the internet so I in no way condone the random meeting of any old person. But if you're safe, i.e. as safe as you would be in real life, you'll be fine. I met Charlotte's family on that first meeting. And some of her friends and mutual loveliness was seen on both sides. I'd recommend anyone in a similar situation as Charlotte's parents do the same with any prospective weirdo from the internet! But of course I am not a weirdo...in that sense at least, hence the four month relationship (and counting). People on the internet, more often than not are just that, people. You're on the internet right now, and I believe we live in a changing world where stories like mine and Charlotte's are becoming more common. It's just a new way to meet people, friends or otherwise.
So I recommend taking the risk, I knew I liked Charlotte instantly, I think you do just know sometimes and it's something I had never experienced up to that point. People have told me in the past that I should be this and I should be that, but the truth is when you meet the right person you are exactly yourself and everything goes according to plan. I had watched a video by the youtuber Carrie Fletcher earlier in the day. I highly recommend watching her, she has this project called the things we never say project. The impetus in it's creation is for people to say the things they want to say that they never usually would. And with Charlotte I did, I know people would tell me not to say the things I said in that first conversation, but I did, and now we're in love. So my advice to anyone is if you really like someone it really is that simple, say what you want to say, if they don't respond well then they're not the right person, move on. Moving on was something I had failed to do to an extremely high degree up until that point in my life. But it worked and I'm happier than I could have ever possibly imagined.
To be honest, if I sit and think about the things and the tiny decisions which led me to Charlotte, I really can't believe it. Just one tiniest decision going the other way could have meant me never meeting her. If my friend Jocy had never introduced me to youtubing or John Green I would not be on youtube and in love with the writing which led me to her. If I'd never joined Tumblr she'd never have followed me on there, if any one of the girls I'd pursued in the past had said yes to me I'd maybe be with them. If I'd never subscribed to GQ I wouldn't have had the passage of 50 Shades of Grey to read out for that person to like on youtube. That person may not have ever started youtubing either, and that they might not have subscribed to me. The fact that out of the billion videos on that site Charlotte stumbled across mine is something that even now I fail to comprehend. And if I'd never started this blog I wouldn't have tried youtubing in the first place.
I'd like to say that our situation is unique, that it's special and magic and wonderful and it is; infinitely so, but every story like this is special and unique and magic to the couple and I think that's wonderful. Relationships are wonderful and the way they happen is wonderful.
The truth is internet, Charlotte is wonderful and I had to tell you our story as this is my favourite new thing and my most successful. Having a girlfriend and being in love is just about the best new thing I've rather wonderfully stumbled across.
* For those not in the know an Interrobang is the greatest of all punctuation marks, the combination of a question mark and an exclamation mark. I will be making a petition to have it included on all computer keyboards.
