It takes some people their whole lives to find true love. For me it only took 15 years. I know that people reading this probably think you can't really know what love is until you're older, but those people would be wrong. Here is the story of my relationship with one amazing person who showed me that true love comes in all shapes, sizes, and most importantly, at any age.

I met Mat in October of 2001 at a party. I had just broken up with my last boyfriend a few weeks earlier and was getting back into the whole social scene. I really wasn't having a good time so I went into my friend's bedroom with two other friends and was just chilling on the bed. All night I had been noticing this one guy who seemed to be really funny and sweet (HOT too!). Well all of a sudden someone jumps on top of me on the bed and says "Hi, I'm Mat!" Well he turned out to be the guy I had been noticing! We talked on my friend's bed for the rest of the party and had a great time. At the end of the night right before I left he kissed my neck and said goodnight. Well I went home thinking it was a great flirty fling at a party...Boy was I wrong!

The next day his ex who is also one of my friends called me and told me he had called her to ask for my phone number. I was really surprised because I thought it was gonna be a one night thing. I was also happy though because I had been hoping it would turn out to be more :) So about an hour later my phone rang and it was Mat! We talked for almost 2 hours that day and he asked if he could come to lunch with my friends and me that Monday. Everyone loved him and we spent the next four days getting to know each other. Then after only four days he asked me out! I said yes and that started a great relationship.

After about two months I realized Mat was special, he wasn't gonna be another jerk that would break my heart. I started thinking about if I was ready to have a serious relationship. Soon after that Mat started acting really weird. I asked him about it and he told me something was bothering him and it was about me but it was good. Then he told me he needed to talk to Tatiana who is one of my good friends and practically his sister. Immediately I thought of the "L Word". We had already been saying "Olive Juice" to each other which is the equivalent of "Luv ya!" but that was hardly the same as "I love you." One day I was talking to my best friend Sarah and telling her about how I felt, my thoughts on Mat's behavior and how I had been driving myself crazy for a week about this. She kind of listened to my whole story and then looked me in the eye and said "Wait! OH MY GOD!! You finally did it!! You fell in love! When are you gonna tell him?" I was like "Tell him?!?! I'm not gonna tell him! I'm gonna wait until he says it first!" Sarah of course told me that was not an option and told me to call Mat's best friend Ben. So I called Ben and asked him about it and he told me that if I told Mat I loved him it would only scare him away. So I waited until eventually I couldn't stand it anymore. I asked him if he had talked to Tatiana about whatever was bothering him. He said he had and he had changed his mind and not to worry about it! That of course broke my heart.

A few days later we were hanging out at my house when all of a sudden he just said "Olive Juice." I turned to him and said it back, but it didn't come out "Olive Juice." It came out "I love you." I said it really quietly though so at first he wasn't sure what I had said. About five minutes later he goes "Wait, what did you just say? That wasn't 'Olive Juice,' was it?" I turned to him and I said it again, "I love you." Plain, simple and oh so true. I waited and hoped while he sat there and looked like he was gonna pass out. Finally, Mat smiles and says, "I love you too."

That was three and a half months ago and we are now coming up on out six month anniversary. We've had our share of problems and gotten in a few fights but we always get through them. Our love has strengthened so much in the last few months and now I really think we can make it through anything. My parents are still not convinced our love is for real but I know they'll understand eventually. They don't realize that Mat is my everything, he's my angel in disguise and every day I'm with him I thank God for this amazing chance to be blessed with true love so young.