"Be More Chill" and other important life lessons

So... I met a guy that I really like, but I have to remind myself of the old Conan O'Brien adage to "Keep Cool my Babies" or my Wichita State University professor Ed Baker saying to "keep cool." I guess I have developed this raging feminist persona, and to be honest I think that is why many men find me attractive, and this case was no exception.

I have to admit that I met this strapping young lad through the dating app. OkCupid. I am saddened to admit that online dating no longer holds a stigma and is now considered to be the norm. Gone are the days when men and women used to meet at dances, instead it is all about the profile and the pics. that you chose to post that highlight your personality. I must admit that my profile was incredibly ambitious, it stated that I wanted to write and star in my own Netflix show and one day host SNL. I must say that this did attract a fair share of weirdos, however, this confidence is what led me to the Amish Athlete.

We met on a Thursday night after work. He met me outside of the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. I must say that he was incredibly understanding when I stated that I didn't want to venture down to SoHo or the Financial District (FiDi) and feel perpetually lost and hopeless. Being lost brings forth the worst possible emotions. In almost all instances your phone battery is virtually gone, making it impossible to fully utilize GoogleMaps. The weather is always incredibly uncomfortable and the fact that you always seem to be toting a hefty load truly makes you appear to be a hopeless case. Once your date is actually underway you find yourself to look unladylike as you savagely gulp down water.

Well this marked a case where my date had agreed to meet me! We met right outside of my favorite place in the world and had to venture through Lincoln Center.

He met me right behind the Metropolitan Opera House and at first things seemed to get off to an awkward start. It is never easy to explain to anyone that currently you're an unemployed dreamer who has great future aspirations. As soon as we started walking our conversation really took off. We ended up cabbing it to the Upper West Side where he was more familiar with the surroundings and we ended up going to a Thai restaurant. There we continued to exchange pleasantries and shared where we were from. I have to say this man failed to disappoint, alas the Sarah Palin question was brought forth. He shared with me that he had grown up in Pennsylvania. Knowing that Pennsylvania was a big state led me to feel quite insulted by this next question, asking me if I knew much about Pennsylvania? To that I felt picked on and fairly insulted and asked if "he was Amish or something?"

I should have identified this as a case where I was feeding the flame, but in this case my date maintained a stoic nature and simply told me that he had come from an Amish upbringing. I had watched an Amish documentary in a university class I had taken years back in the Psychology of Religion. Anyways I had learned of this time referred to as Rumspringa. Rumspringa is a period of time that occurs when an Amish adolescent turns sixteen and is provided with two weeks to experiment and use all Western conveniences. At the end of this period they are then provided with the choice of whether or not they want to leave or join the church. Wow! This gentleman that I was associating with had decided to leave the church and pretty much be disowned by his family when he was sixteen years old. The reason why I believed this epic tale is because it was told with extreme conviction. He went on to provide me with the professions of his relations. He basically told me that his brother was a Shepard, his mother baked bread all day, and his father was a carpenter. I had a good long hearty laugh about the Shepard one, but I'll admit I was just kind of in shock.

As our date went on I must admit that he did a pretty good job of keeping this story alive.

He met me right behind the Metropolitan Opera House and at first things seemed to get off to an awkward start. It is never easy to explain to anyone that currently you're an unemployed dreamer who has great future aspirations. As soon as we started walking our conversation really took off. We ended up cabbing it to the Upper West Side where he was more familiar with the surroundings and we ended up going to a Thai restaurant. There we continued to exchange pleasantries and shared where we were from. I have to say this man failed to disappoint, alas the Sarah Palin question was brought forth. He shared with me that he had grown up in Pennsylvania. Knowing that Pennsylvania was a big state led me to feel quite insulted by this next question, asking me if I knew much about Pennsylvania? To that I felt picked on and fairly insulted and asked if "he was Amish or something?"

I should have identified this as a case where I was feeding the flame, but in this case my date maintained a stoic nature and simply told me that he had come from an Amish upbringing. I had watched an Amish documentary in a university class I had taken years back in the Psychology of Religion. Anyways I had learned of this time referred to as Rumspringa. Rumspringa is a period of time that occurs when an Amish adolescent turns sixteen and is provided with two weeks to experiment and use all Western conveniences. At the end of this period they are then provided with the choice of whether or not they want to leave or join the church. Wow! This gentleman that I was associating with had decided to leave the church and pretty much be disowned by his family when he was sixteen years old. The reason why I believed this epic tale is because it was told with extreme conviction. He went on to provide me with the professions of his relations. He basically told me that his brother was a Shepard, his mother baked bread all day, and his father was a carpenter. I had a good long hearty laugh about the Shepard one, but I'll admit I was just kind of in shock.

As our date went on I must admit that he did a pretty good job of keeping this story alive.

The next day I found that the Amish Athlete was "busy," so I simply told myself "Well, that was nice, but never depend on a man." Staying true to this philosophy I went on with my life. Realizing that Times Square wasn't my jam for editing my book, I decided to seek out A.C. in this overheated city. Eventually I found it in a Starbucks, however at this establishment I was required to sit next to a hobo who was extremely friendly. After a while I had to indicate that I had to work and ceased talking to this individual.

The next day I went to Union Square, my favorite square with the exception of Times Square. It was hot, but I came equipped with water, so my writing stint was tolerable.

The next day I found that the Amish Athlete was "busy," so I simply told myself "Well, that was nice, but never depend on a man." Staying true to this philosophy I went on with my life. Realizing that Times Square wasn't my jam for editing my book, I decided to seek out A.C. in this overheated city. Eventually I found it in a Starbucks, however at this establishment I was required to sit next to a hobo who was extremely friendly. After a while I had to indicate that I had to work and ceased talking to this individual.

The next day I went to Union Square, my favorite square with the exception of Times Square. It was hot, but I came equipped with water, so my writing stint was tolerable.

I have to say "Be More Chill" was not my favorite. Anything on Broadway is well done, but I really did not enjoy the subject matter. It was based on a graphic novel where the young boy was hopelessly unpopular, but one day got ahold of this pill known as a spliff that was able to provide him with an alter ego who was able to make all important decisions for him and bring him to a level of popularity. In the end the main character realizes that he wants to just go back to being himself and there's this crazy Mountain Dew Red montage. Once the Mountain Dew Red comes into play, then everything is restored to normal.

A little bit crazy and out of my comfort zone but the man next to me truly loved this show. This experience taught me how important it is to respect everyone's perspective and opinion; you'll never know what appeals to one individual when you can find it mundane and detestable.