9/27/12

Flipping the Script: He Interviewed Me (Part 1)


Are ya’ll ready?!?!
I hope I’m not hyping it up too much-I'm just really excited lol! But today is going to be Part 1 of Dr. J.D.’s interview with me. He’s one of my closest friends, a really kind and compassionate guy, oh…and I forgot to mention that he’s an ex-boyfriend too!
He was the first male that I ever interviewed for this site, and a couple of months ago he called me up and asked me if he could interview me. I didn’t think anyone would be too interested in my answers (because I talk to ya’ll all the time!), but he thought it would be cool to give my readers a closer, more intimate glance into who I am and what I have to say. So I agreed, we conducted our interview (which lasted almost 2 hours), and now I’m posting it below for ya’ll to check out.
Before we begin though, I think it’s important to fill ya’ll in on the fact that neither one of us prepped for this interview. I couldn’t because we wanted it to be authentic (and thus, I didn’t want to have time to prepare for it or pre-think of answers), and he wanted to just go with the flow based off the answers I was giving. Overall, I think that it provides a pretty raw and candid look into my personal perspective about dating, waiting and sex. (And this is only the appetizer…Part2 is going to be even more intense, but that’s coming next week, so check back for that later J).
One more thing that I want to add though, is that since these answers are my personal perspective, they are a look into who I am. In the past I’ve tried to shy away a little from talking about religion (on this site), because I didn’t want to alienate my readers who aren’t Christians or who don’t share in the same beliefs as I do.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Christian and nothing will ever change that, but the purpose of this site has less to do with my beliefs and more to do with just reminding women, (young women and teens especially), that they have options and that they don’t have to do anything that they aren’t ready to do; to let them know that it’s ok to say no and that there’s nothing wrong with waiting…. That just because society says that everybody is doing it, doesn’t mean its true or make it right.
Christianity and my faith are just how I have held on to my principles.
Now that we’ve gotten the preliminaries out of the way, let’s get down to the raw and unedited version of me…here’s a glimpse inside my head J

Flipping the Script: He Interviewed Me (Part 1)

1.      I’ve known you for thirteen years now and you’ve always been consistent with your beliefs and values. How have you maintained that?

Wait! I just started getting really nervous when I remembered that this was for an interview because it’s just so natural for us to talk about anything one on one with each other, but let me move past my anxiety lol….it’s just so weird being on the other side of things though!

But back to the question at hand, (sorry about that), I’ve maintained my values and beliefs because it’s just a part of who I am. I genuinely believe the things that I talk about, and they’ve become synonymous with who I am as a person. My faith has played a really big role in that. I can’t imagine myself without my faith; it’s my foundation. Likewise, I can’t imagine myself without my morals and values…they’ve just been instilled in me.

It’s just who I am. I know so many people struggle with the authenticity of some Christians, and it’s because they live one way through the week and a different way when they’re at church. I’m not that calculating clever, nor do I have time to play games. What you see with me is what you get. I have moments of weakness, I have down days, but overall I consistently try to stay true to myself and to my beliefs.

2.      Do you think that some (religious) people can be too serious in terms of physical relationships with their partner? (I.e. Can you kiss? Can you touch? How much is too much? And how much is ok in keeping with your beliefs and what you think the Bible says is ok)?

I really can’t speak for everybody else, but the way that I look at it is that you can’t desire something that you’ve never had before. Thus, I think it’s a wise thing to set up limits from the beginning, because then you’re less likely to cross those boundaries. In terms of how far is too far, I think that’s something that a person has to determine for themselves. I do think that for Christians specifically, the Bible is very clear about our body being a temple and sex being for marriage.

To answer your question though, for me personally, I’ve kissed and stuff (and don’t get caught up on the ‘and stuff’ lol, it’s not that serious- I’m sure you can tell them that right J?!?!)… But there are some lines that I literally just refuse to cross. To me, it’s a similar concept to eating baby food as a child and then switching to solids: after you’ve been introduced to solids, that mashed stuff just doesn’t do it for you anymore. Similarly, I feel like after you’ve crossed certain lines and experienced certain things, those simple acts just don’t even faze you anymore…you eventually just want more. 

In some of my past relationships I used to try really hard to please the person that I was with, so I kept toying with the idea of what I was comfortable doing but it just didn’t feel right. I feel like the person that wins my heart is going to win all of me, so it felt like cheating to give even a little piece of that away.

So for me, I try to keep it at kissing and holding hands- anything more than that and I’m playing with fire.

3.     Your spirituality has allowed you to stay really focused on your virginity and not having sex before marriage. Saying that, wouldn’t you think that your husband would have to be a really godly man or on the same level as you? Are you looking for a male version of yourself basically?

Um… no! I want balance. I guess I should rephrase my answer: yes and no. No because I can’t bare the thought of being with someone lame or not exciting (not saying that I’m lame or unexciting, but you get my drift).I can’t imagine a life where I’m dating someone and they’re always quoting scriptures and talking all this philosophical gibberish, (hope I’m not offending anyone but I’m just being real). Like for instance if we’re playing a board game and they start talking about the 23rd Psalm, I’m going to be like ‘for real?!?!’ Where’s your balance?
 
Or if my car breaks down and I call him, and he starts telling me it’s probably because something isn’t right in my life and to let’s evaluate what I’ve been doing and figure out why this happened, I’m going to be annoyed. My car broke down and I’m stranded! We can figure out the whys later, can you please just come and get me first???? So yeah, I can’t be with someone who is so righteous and spiritual that they can no longer connect…that’s not cool.

But I say yes because I want my future husband to be my spiritual leader. I want to submit to him, but I need to make sure before we get married that he is submitting to God. I want us to be equally yoked and on the same page.

4.      Speaking of being on the same page, what are five elements that you think a couple should agree on?

·         Spirituality
·         Finances
·         Whether you want to have children or not/how you’re going to raise your children
·         Communication (methods)
·        Your unity or your marriage (For example: if you’re a private person but you’re dating someone who’s open and doesn’t mind sharing all your business, it might be a problem for ya’ll. You’re not going to want to bring everybody into your marriage, and he’s not going to see the problem with it).

5.     I know you’ve heard this before, so tell me your opinion about it: Society has taught us that you never want to marry someone unless you’ve had sex with them first, saying you don’t want to eventually marry someone that you aren’t sexually compatible with. How do you feel about that?

Society also says that women should be a size zero and sex objects. I’m not buying it. I understand that sex is important…I get that. But more important than anything else are the people themselves. You can work on and improve anything, but it’s a lot harder to change a person’s character or persona. So I don’t necessarily agree with the whole sexually compatible argument. That’s why I believe you should get to know a person first and fall in love with him or her as a person, before you introduce the intimate stuff like sex. It’s just too much pressure and then you also don’t have to worry about being compared to their previous partners.

To me, saving one’s self is sexy. It’s a loyalty that defies comprehension. It’s saying that I cared so much about you before I even knew that you were the one, that I was willing to save myself just for you without even knowing you first, because I believed that you were just that special.

Yeah, I’ve never had sex so in some people’s mind I might run the risk of being with someone that doesn’t do it for me, but that’s just a chance that I’m willing to take. I’ve never been with anyone else, so I can almost promise that it’s going to be the best I’ve had! (And anything that doesn’t work, we can communicate and work on it together).

 
6.     This is getting good, lol! Ok, so my next question is does it bother you whatsoever how many partners that your future husband will have? Will you be nervous or intimated?

I don’t hold someone’s past against them, and no I’m not intimidated or nervous about it. I know who I am and what I have, and I’m sure I won’t be a disappointment. I feel like everything else he probably had came fairly easy for him, so I’m something that he’s going to have to work for, but it’ll all be worth it in the end.

7.       What is your ideal man? Physically and otherwise?

Physically, I’m not sure that I really have a preference; I just don’t want to date someone too short or too skinny. I’m 5’2, and I love to wear heels just as much as I like flats, but I don’t like being taller than the guy I’m dating though, so he at least has to be taller than me. The other part of that is I don’t feel safe being with someone who isn’t strong enough to protect me. This is just me, but if he can’t pick me up (I’m 120 pounds) and run with me if something were to go down (which I’m sure that would never happen but you never know in this day and age!)…but basically I just don’t feel comfortable or safe being with someone that I’m bigger than. I’m not saying that someone’s size has to do with his strength, but I am saying that I would just feel more comfortable and secure that way.

 As far as everything else though, I just want a guy who shares in my faith, has a sense of humor, and someone whom I share a friendship with. I desire someone who is loyal, financially stable, intelligent, compassionate, driven, and somebody that just genuinely cares about me. Whether I’m up or down he’ll be willing to go that extra mile and just be there and stick it out with me just because he cares. Oh, and I forgot to add someone that I’m attracted to too!!!

8.      I know that you’re a beautiful and confident girl, but when I see you I think of Lolo Jones or AC Green. Do you ever think about your age and are you ok if you don’t find that person until you’re older?

 I would rather wait and be with the right person than to just be with a person just because. For me, being alone is a lot better than living with a nightmare…I can wait.


-Virgin Monologuez
P.S. Here’s an excerpt from Part 2 of our interview: (Come back next week to check it out! Honestly, I’m not trying to be suspenseful, it was just too long to post everything all at once so I decided to make it into two parts, but I promise that you won’t want to miss it J)

“Looking back on everything, you’re 27, single, and still a virgin, has it been worth it to wait? If so, why?”

9/24/12

Monologue Monday: Let’s Have A Little Heart to Heart

I know it’s been a while since the last Monologue Monday post, and I’m sorry about that. I have so much stuff to talk to you about, but the thing that I want to discuss the most right now is about being real.

Yeah… being real.
I’m not the type of girl to act like I have it all together. (And if at any point I’ve ever given you that impression, I truly apologize for it…for real).
This weekend I spent Saturday doing a couple of interviews for this site, and for one of the interviews I was the one actually being interviewed… (it was pretty intense too, but that’s another story)!
My intentions behind agreeing to do the interview were two sided. On the one hand, I wanted to show the guys that I’ve been interviewing that I’m not above getting down and personal (especially since the guy doing the interview was the first person that I ever interviewed for this site, and he came to me and asked me could he interview me, so I happily complied).
But the second reason, and the reason that’s even closer to my heart, is that I really wanted to get raw and unedited for ya’ll and for myself. 
While I think that it’s important to be a role model and mentor, I feel like it’s just as important to be real and honest.
I’m not perfect. It feels good to say that and to acknowledge that I don’t have it all together and sometimes I just don’t know what I’m doing.
Don’t get me wrong, I know who I am, what my goals and passions are, and what I stand for, but I also realize that I’m human. I’ve been in situations that I shouldn’t have been in, I’ve done things that I shouldn’t have done, and I’ve allowed things to happen that I shouldn’t have went along with.
But with all that has come life…. Has come experience.
My monologue for today is that it’s ok to make mistakes.
Why???
Because you’ll learn from them, and hopefully you’ll take what you’ve learned and help somebody else along the way so that their journey isn’t so bumpy. (And I’m not promoting to just go out there and do whatever you want and then just say ‘oh, my bad’ after you’ve done something that you know you shouldn’t have done. But I am saying don’t get so caught up in your failures and faults that you can’t move past them. Acknowledge that it was wrong and then change it…don’t dwell on it but don’t mask it either; call it what it was).
I know it’s tempting to act like you have it all together or like you have the perfect life, but oh the people we could reach and the lives we could touch if we got real with them and ourselves. (And not to mention your life would be so much happier if you didn’t have to wear a mask or pretend to be something that you aren’t….there is liberty and freedom in being real).
I’m saying all of that to say this:
When you’re reading through my stories or the stories of the other men and women on here, be encouraged. Don’t ever feel like you are being judged or condemned because of who you are or what you’ve done. (Now if you feel convicted because what you are doing is wrong and you want to change it, that’s a different story… but don’t feel like you can’t relate to any of the people who have submitted stories). We’re all just like you, and this is a judgment free zone.
I, and my site, are about encouraging others; lifting them up and helping them to see that there are alternatives to following the norm and ‘doing what everybody else does’.
If I, or the other people that I allow to come on here and share with you, can’t be honest about who we are and what our imperfections are/what we struggle with, then what’s the point?
Dare to be the change that you want to see and always be real with yourself and others

-Virgin Monologuez

P.S. So I decided that I would post the interview with Dr. J.D. first (hehe J he sent me a playful email when I called him Mr. last time- people and their titles huh?!?!? (just kidding)), but I’m going to do that interview later on this week, and then post the other male’s perspective interview that I did sometime next month. So come back later in the week because I PROMISE that you don’t want to miss our one-on-one interview.
Until then, have an incredible week and just enjoy life!

9/23/12

Moment of Truth:


Surround yourself with positive people.
I just had one of the most inspiring conversations with an incredible person last night, and it made me even more motivated to go after my dreams!
-You only live once, so make the most out of this life

#GoHard

Behind the Scenes


I know you are asking me where have you been?!?!’
I actually asked myself that.
After I got back from an almost month long vacation (that I’m still so grateful that I got a chance to takeJ), I was a bit overwhelmed at the mountain of things that had accumulated while I was gone.
I came back to a ton of emails, lots of meetings, and a laundry list of things to do. So even though the only thing that I wanted to do was sit down and write, I had to take care of my responsibilities….(Just because you take a break, doesn’t mean life is going to stop for you- so I had to get back at it!)
I'm happy to report that I’m all caught up…ok, well MOSTLY all caught up, and now I can spend some much needed time catering to this site (which brings me true happiness)!
So let’s get this party started!!!!

P.S. I spent the majority of yesterday doing TWO interviews that I can’t wait to share with ya’ll!
The first one is a pretty good interview from a male on his perspectives regarding everything from frat guys to makeup, and the second interview was a role reversal: instead of me interviewing the guys, I was the one being interviewed….It was a HOT interview if I must say so myself. I told him nothing was off limits and I didn’t get a chance to see the questions before hand, so I had NO IDEA what was going to be thrown at me…It was intense ya’ll. (Oh, and the interviewer was none other than the second most read male’s perspective interview that I gave: Mr. JD- checkout his interview here).
In the mean time, I know that I'm going to be posting one of the interviews this week, but I can’t decide which one it’s going to be: the male’s perspective or a glance into who I am and what I really think about some of the same topics that I ask so many other people about.
What do you think?!?
Stay tuned to see which one I choose first….but I promise neither one will be a disappointment!

9/17/12

I’m back!!!!


I just had one of the most incredible vacations of my entire life!
It wasn’t about where I went or what I did necessarily, but it was the fact that I got to enjoy it with family and friends. I feel so well rested, so rejuvenated, and so ready to just make things happen!
Since today is my first day back I plan on just trying to get caught up with emails and all of that stuff, but as soon as I get everything settled and get things back in order, I will be back….with A LOT to say!!!! (So stay tuned J).
Just to give you a sample of what's coming up next week, there’s going to be a Monologue Monday post, an interview from the Male’s Perspective, and some other goodies.
Thank ya’ll so much for standing by me while I was away, and I promise not to disappoint now that I’m back.

-Greater Days Ahead