> So, in conclusion, while I like to think that I am an adult now.....believing that romanticism has been hideously overused in modern culture, I am really a romantic at heart who is a definate believer in "the moment" who is scared that when I do use it, I won't be taken seriously.
>

That's an interesting thought. I know that as far as I go, any usage of saying "I love you" or anything beyond hugging (not that I would go *anywhere* beyond a hug and a kiss before marriage anyway) would be totally and completely serious. That is something I would never ever use lightly. In fact, my hugs, both IRL *and* in RinkChat, are never given lightly or randomly either.

Something semi-related that worries me, a bit, is that if anything romantic and true ever finds me that I won't be able to recognize it because of all the psuedo-but-not-really-romantic crud that's been surrounding me in society since as far back as I can remember. Or I worry that I WILL fall for the psueudo-stuff instead of finding the real deal. Hrmph. Discernment is definetely needed, and I *think* I have it, but I always worry that I don't. Not that I've had reason to question anyone's motives yet.

Sosi"romantically paranoid"qui