Date a Girl who gets excited at the chance of taking a long walk discovering the tiny alleys of a neighborhood. Date her because she would rather be outside in the scorching heat finding that new bookstore instead of lazing in front of the couch watching “Jersey Shore”.
You will find her talking about a new art installation in a tiny gallery that her friends didn’t know existed. Date her because she is just as passionate about surrealism as she is about street art. She will meet people who have dissimilar interests and ask them a million questions because she is as curious as a colorful wandering butterfly. She will take you to the unveiling of a photography display that’s in town for a week; she will beg you to go with her to the new Andy Warhol exhibit even though she has no knowledge about pop art, only because she is enthusiastic to learn.
Take her to the Saturday flea market in Brooklyn, or the farmer’s market in Union Square. She will revel at the sight of an old typewriter or a vintage camera. You’ll find her talking to the tomato sellers; asking them about their stories, their families.
She will always listen.
You’ll know she has a wandering eye when you’re ranting about your apartment woes and she drifts off mid-conversation pointing at a passing van painted with owls. She will treasure a little postcard over any fancy meal at the best restaurant in town.
If you look through her collection of scavenged items, you may find little concert tickets, blue beaded fish bracelets, visiting cards of different cafes, a novel she picked up on the side of an abandoned parking lot, colorful green and red tissue papers, coasters from her favorite bars in different cities, countries even. Her collection is a million little memories that would mean nothing to anyone else but her.
When you talk to her, you will know she has a flair for words, as she does for scrabble. You will be consumed, in mind and heart, by her experiences and anecdotes that you can feel the adrenaline gushing through her speech, as she vividly describes her White Rock camping trip in Arkansas or river rafting expeditions in Dandeli. She will relive those memories, in that very moment as her muscles take shape to show her beautiful smile, her pupils dilate in excitement changing the tone of the conversation but forever altering the colors of your sight.
She is a people person. She loves meeting new people and making new friends as much as she loves the comfort of her own bed. Whether it’s a 45-year-old Australian couple she met at a rooftop bar, a 40 year old lawyer she met on the Hudson River or a shy 24-year-old American boy she fell for at Fulton Station, she will know what to say and how to say it well enough to leave a trail of her scent behind, making you long for her company just a little whiff longer.
Invite her to your city. If she loves you enough, she may even make a secret trip out of it. Watch her peel the layers of emotions, moods and colors as she beautifully captures each street corner or every treetop with her camera in a way that you probably would have never seen it. Allow her to transform your vision, disintegrate your previous reservations and make you fall head over heels in love with the city you used to be in love with, when you first moved there.
She appreciates and respects her roots. As much as she enjoys the independence of living alone and traveling the world, she does miss falling asleep on her mother’s lap, her sister’s silly laugh and her father’s big warm hug. She knows that every trip back home is one step farther from her next journey, but one step closer to these strong ties that keep her grounded. She loves her family and friends who have been a constant reminder of how far she has come; from seeing her as the little girl eating masala dosas in the school canteen to the woman cooking her own meals in a makeshift electric cooker.
Talk to her about music. Let her sing you a song or two. Her taste in music is as distinctively different as the changing seasons. She will take you to the cozy café tucked in the heart of Duxton Hill allowing you to discover that new artist you are now talking about on Facebook. Whether it’s a little slow jazz Sinatra song or an amazing guitar solo by John Mayer, she will sing it to you the way the street singer - Jess, sang it to her at Court Sq. station. Go with her on these little journeys; finding new singers, getting lost in transit and she will make you realize that your worries are so little compared to those who have nothing and are so happy with whatever little they make out of their passion for music.
Better yet, teach her an instrument.
Date her because she is eager to learn. Because she yearns to learn a new language, write a new story, help construct a new Lego set or even paint a new picture. In that process, learn from her how it is always okay to fail and start afresh, start something new, something that is yours.
No matter how far she goes to explore the corners of the world, know that you will always be a postcard away. In that way, you are there in spirit; holding her by the waist as you’ll stand on the east river looking at the diminishing skyline, or giving her a hand while hiking the Machu Picchu. No matter whom she meets along the way, she will always be a phone call away for you.
Join her when she lies on the green grass and stares into the vast beautiful sky. Allow her to see that in you. To find the depth of your knowledge and the length of your personality and respect you as you are. Make sure you do the same. If she lets you in, you’ll be as happy as a puppy and as content as a sleeping bear.
Date a girl who explores because you will always have something to learn from and teach each other. Because life is too short to be selfish about knowledge and too colorful to only see it in black and white.
(Have you read Date A Girl Who Reads
by Rosmarie Urquico? If you haven’t, please do! My post is a little
writing exercise I put myself through and an addition to the “Date A
Girl/Boy who..” series! I hope you enjoy it, share it and can identify
with it.)
Vasudhaa Narayanan
I'm a 21 year old Indian, who grew up in Africa, India and Singapore. I love to dance and frolic in the rain! I am an animal lover, tree hugger, and a bit of a singer. When i'm not trying my hand at photography, learning french or travel blogging, I play my ukulele!
