A LiveJournaler imagines the future of a perfect couple he observes on their first date:

These two have been moving toward each other their whole lives — someone else who loves Le Petit Prince, someone who hates getting all dressed up, someone who can talk about politics without getting shrill and angry, someone who thinks deeply about things and tries to be a good person, someone who doesn’t have an easy time forming attachments but who loves deeply and lastingly when it happens.

It’s a beautifully written piece and a beautiful thought, and I identify with it and it makes me hopeful for the future. But it also makes me worry. Am I missing opportunities because I can’t make myself a little less shy, a little more outgoing, a little more patient towards people I don’t know well enough to trust, and a little more truthful and expressive about my feelings towards people I do?