All a girl wants is to know you care

Anyone who has experienced true wintry weather knows the coldness of a Midwestern day is not a force to be reckoned with. But this past Christmas, my heart was filled with warmth and joy. My enthusiasm was not only due to the happiness of being with the people I love the most, but because I received the call I would never forget: “Alexis, I’m getting married!”
The early morning call came from my best friend of 14 years, eager to tell me all the details of the proposal, phoned to wake me up that Monday morning overly anxious and extremely excited.
And she had a right to be.
Since second grade we have laughed, cried and matured together through several ups and downs during the course of our friendship. But now it seems she would be entering a new phase of her life and for the first time we would not be part of the matriculation process together.
After I hung up the phone I told my older sister of the unexpected phone call. After all the girly details, I laughingly said to her, “Can I even get a friend, let alone a fiancé?”
Fast forward two months.
Here it is on the eve of Valentines Day, and my only concern is simply which restaurant I am going to take myself to for dinner. No date-just me.
Although I believe love is to be celebrated all year round, Valentines Day is indeed a special day for families, couples and businesses alike. But as I sit and ponder, I could not help but contemplate why on the day of love so many young talented women will too be spending their Valentine’s Day alone. There has to be a reason behind it, I thought to myself. So it brought me to the essential question, “What is it that women my age really want in a mate?”
Hard working, honesty and intelligence are is some of the first things that come to mind, but I feel as though this question is not for me to answer exclusively.
After conversing with several of my female friends, the number one answer was someone who has a relationship with God.
Other characteristics included good-looking, fun, a sense of humor, open-minded about life, someone who is going to “keep it real” and say what is on their mind and someone who is reasonable and flexible.
What may be considered next most important, someone who does nice and sporadic things every once in a while like cooking dinner or buying her favorite candy.
Simple ways of showing that you care.
The underlying message of the conversations however was clear, what women want is someone who is into them-solely.
Granted, women are responsible for equally sharing responsibility and treating males in a likewise manner, but women want to know a guy cares, know that he is honestly interested.
In no way am I the spokeswoman for every young woman in society or even at Southern for that matter, but these are some of the key characteristics a lot of women seek in a mate, but most importantly, a friend. For my best friend for example, their relationship started out as an innocent high school friendship that merely evolved over time.
In October, you can catch me as the Maid of Honor in what will be one of the best weddings of the year. No matter what my relationship status or my personal feelings will be in regards to men, relationships and ‘what I want’ characteristics, on that day it won’t even matter.
I can’t wait!