By Cassie Sheridan
My first column described the goal of this series “to be about love, and relationships, and college, and hook-up culture, and emotional deprivation, and salvation, and how, maybe, we can all do better.”
And I tried. There are no easy answers for any of these subjects, but I approached them. And I hope that in small and simple ways some of my words helped you make sense of your own heart.
When I proposed writing this column last semester it came from a desire to give better words to the problems we are all grappling with emotionally and romantically. I wanted to take the pulse of college dating culture, and also give voice to thoughts a great many of us tend to keep inside.
I wanted to open the shutters on people’s hearts.
I’m still not Carrie Bradshaw or Dear Abby, but I feel like I’m walking away from this having given life and voice to a lot of things about our contemporary heartbeats that no one else was speaking about honestly.
My first column opened with me putting myself and my romantic endeavors and experiences out there as an invitation for people to be emotionally vulnerable along with me.
I wanted, and still want, everyone to experience sexuality with vulnerability and compassion. I wanted to use this columns as a place for people to allow themselves to feel things, because I think there are very few places for this emotional honesty to be expressed in a real, raw, true way.
I talked about a great deal of subjects, and whether any of what I wrote spoke to you or not, I hope you can walk away with a few things.
Don’t be afraid of how you feel, and don’t be afraid to feel it.
Demand recognition of your desires and sexuality. Expect compassion and care and nothing less.
Say what you feel. Vocalize it. Allow it to escape from your heart, whether it’s a whisper or a scream.
You’re not alone.
None of this is easy, but know you’re not alone in being lonely or emotionally starving. Know you’re not alone in loving someone that is far away from you. You are not alone in being overwhelmingly happy or unbelievably terrified.
I hope you all find what you’re looking for, and if you’re not actively looking, I hope whatever you want finds you.
It’s been fun, and I’ve loved every word and sentence and moment engaging with you all through the Heart Beat.
