My Sex n the SUNY column this week

Social networking sites create spark

Internet dating is not just for older people. College students can find love on the Web, too. Not everyone is into the party scene. Those of us who are more shy or reserved make friends slower than others. I am definitely a home body and prefer to spend my evenings vegging out with a book or on the Internet. I met my boyfriend on the Web over a year ago. It will be two years on Nov. 19.

I started speaking with Will in an atheist discussion page on Facebook in August 2010. We took things slowly by speaking on MSN and Skype.  At first, I was nervous about meeting him in real life because I was afraid my mom would be mad at me for dating someone I met on the Internet. I was very hesitant, but after mulling it over for a month, I decided I wanted us to meet in person. We physically met in November 2010 and spent a wonderful weekend together.

It was also my first time having sex. I was nervous, but he was gentle and considerate of my feelings. I sat at the end of the bed, and he took my boots off for me. He sat next to me and lifted me onto his lap so I could be closer to him.

We started out slowly and then we got into it.

We spent the night learning what the other person liked and did not like to do sexually. After we finished, Will introduced me to Battlestar Galactica. I fell in love with the show as quickly as I fell in love with him.

From the beginning, I felt like I knew him my entire life. I felt like he was that best friend I had always been searching for. 

We share so many interests, but we have our differences, too. We both like  science fiction, such as Dr. Who and Star Trek. I love vegetables, and he hates them.

It took me a while to get up the courage to tell my mom about Will. I was nervous about telling her because I thought she would freak out. Not that it would matter what she thought, but I wanted her to accept it because it would take a lot of stress off me. I wasn’t ashamed of the relationship, and I would still keep dating Will no matter how she felt.

It took weeks of discussion with my therapist and Will about how to break the news to my mom.

My therapist gave me a couple suggestions. She told me to either send my mom an email saying that I have something to share with her. I could also wait until I saw her on spring break. 

Come spring break, I was not calm  when I told her. I was hesitant, and I cried.

However, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  When I broke the news to her, she wasn’t mad at all. She was thrilled.

  Now Will and I spend many days and nights together cuddling and watching science fiction shows and art films.

I am grateful that I met Will because he is an extremely calming force in my life. He helps me through the panic attacks and depression I suffer from. He is my anti-depressant.

Society is slowly beginning to accept the idea of Internet dating. However, I would like to tell everyone out there that it doesn’t matter where you find love. It just matters that you find it.