After dating someone for a while, this is the question you start to ask yourself. The older we get, however, the more likely we are to question our “gut” about such things. If you’re starting to think your new love might be “the one” here are four questions to ask yourself to be sure.

• Are things completely natural between you? When you find the right person, there is no pretense; you’re no longer trying to impress them. You believe they love you for who you really are.
• Do you agree on the most basic values? For two people to have a long term commitment, they have the same basic values. In the long run, two people with very different ideas on honesty, family relationships and integrity will not last.
• Do you want the same things long term? Having similar long term goals is critical. Do you agree on whether or not to have children? Do you share religious beliefs, or have you come to an agreement about your differences in this area? If not, you can’t really be sure yet that this person is “the one”.
• Can you imagine life without them? Think about your life if the relationship ended. If you find that you can’t imagine how you could be happy without this person in your life, then he or she may be “the one”.

Diary Children, Compatibility, Marriage, Relationships

Once upon a time, there were two people who didn’t want to eat meat. But they did want to find love. So, they went to a vegan retreat to keep up with their vegan ways and found each other.

It’s becoming a common story these days. As soon as you’re not looking for love, there it is.

While vegans are finding love, so are those who do eat meat.

The lesson to take from this fairy tale story is that getting out and doing what you love can often turn into a love relationship. By exploring those things that inspire you, you can meet others who share in your interests.

Since you will already have something to talk about, even breaking the ice becomes a much easier thing. You can talk about the class, go to follow-up seminars and meetings together. Even if your relationship doesn’t end up working out, you’ll still have cultivated a friendship that is based on shared mutual interests.

And learning more about yourself and about life is something that you can carry with you, even when you are single.

So, get out the door and back into your life. Love might be waiting for you to sign up.

Diary Hobbies, Interests, Love, Vegans

It’s a sad day when high schools begin to teach about dating violence in the classroom. But the reality is that many teens, especially girls, are going to have troubles with dating violence at one point in their lives.

To help combat this grim reality, those who are new to the dating scene need to keep these rules in mind for themselves as they head out with a new date:

• Always tell someone where you’re going – This way, people can find you if you’ve been gone for too long or they just want to check in on you. If your date changes your dating location at the last minute, refuse to go there until you let someone else know. Or, you can be subtle and just text message the change to a friend.
• Always have a time frame in mind and let others know – Let your friends and family know when you will be back, and then stick to the plan.
• Any sign of violence is a bad sign – Even if your date is just ‘playing rough,’ if it makes you uncomfortable, you need to leave your date, call home and get someone to pick you up.
• If you’ve already experienced violence, you need to tell someone – Even if you don’t think it’s a big deal, letting someone know will help you gain perspective on the situation. And they can help you get the help you need, even if you don’t want to.
• Never go anywhere that’s not public until you feel completely comfortable with someone – This is common sense. Get to know a person first before you head back to their house or to a dark alley.

Dating violence typically happens with someone you know well…or someone you thought you knew. No matter how long you’ve been going out or how much you love this person, any violence is too much violence. You need to get away from this person now, before it’s too late.

Diary Abuse, Love, Violence, Women