Getting out of the Friend Zone

High school was over, forever, and we had a long summer ahead of us. It was time to do whatever we wanted, and to take advantage of what might never be the same.

I was looking forward to packing up and moving. I was anxious to start college. But, before leaving I was going to spend every last minute with my friends. And I did.

In my town, there was nothing for us to do, no excitement to be found. We didn’t even have a movie theater and the hottest spot in town was the park. If we wanted excitement, we had to make it.

Since I had my car that summer, we spent most of our time driving around, and that is actually what we called it, “driving around”. Driving around, we had control, we had freedom. We could go anywhere. And anywhere we went.

Nik and I spent a lot of time together that summer. That was the summer for us. That’s when we began to move from friends to more than that. It was a very slow process, but as the summer went on, more and more we hoped it wouldn’t end.

But it did end, and although it was difficult to leave him, I did it anyway and I headed off to college 1000 miles away. It was a new beginning for me in college, and yet also a new beginning for me with Nik.

We began a sort of unspoken relationship while I was in college. We talked online everyday, even several times a day. We got closer than we ever had been while we were living in the same city. We were able to tell each other anything and everything.

What happened over time was that we were finally able to transition out of just being friends. We had both felt how difficult that was while I was home, but somehow being 1000 miles apart just made it so much easier.

There is a popular song out now, “Hey there Delilah” by the Plain White T’s that reminds me of that part in my life. It makes me remember and appreciate what we were going through at that time in our lives. It’s a great song and it really speaks to me.

Looking back, I know those years away at college were important for us. It was a time for us to grow up on our own, and grow together without the two interfering. I don’t know if we would have ended up together if I hadn’t gone away together. We might have never gotten out of the friend zone.

“Hey there Delilah” reminded me how important that time in my life was. Sure, it was painful. I hated being away from Nik. I’m sure if I heard that song at the time, I would be crying over the lyrics. But, now I can look back and remember those times with fond memories.

Do you have any songs that speak to you? Are there any songs out there that remind you of your relationship? I’d like to hear from you, so come on, don’t be shy!