Over the years, I’ve done many things in the name of love…

• Took an astronomy class just for an excuse to be on the football field in the dark with the boy I liked
• Grew out my hair
• Dyed my hair
• Cut my hair
• Permed my hair
• Hung out the passenger side of a pick-up truck shouting non-sensical phrases about chickens in Spanish
• Bestowed sexual favors outdoors in plain sight of a military helicopter (In my defense, I didn’t actually know we were in plain sight of the helicopter until it buzzed us at low altitude with its spotlight turned on. Oops.)
• Gotten piercings
• Listened to many hours of crappy 80s rock, crappy Irish rock, and ska
• Made friends with many a mother, younger sibling, and cat
• Written copious amounts of letters and emails
• Cancelled plans with friends so I could wait by the phone
• Cried myself to sleep
• Learned a strip tease routine
• “Forgot” my underwear
• Prayed so hard my whole body shook with the effort
• Forgave embarrassing public drunkenness (not mine)
• Forgave embarrassing public weirdness (also not mine)
• Forgave back-handed compliments
• Went on road trips
• Made mixed tapes
• Wrote terrible poetry
• Yearned
• Pined
• Moved on