Post 4 – Seth
When I first met Seth, several years ago, I was attracted to him instantly. His golden blond hair, strong physical built and shy demeanour would win any girl over.
I was married a couple of years to Myles, and things were going really well. Myles and I went out on dates and had friends over for supper. He focused on his career which he enjoyed, while I worked diligently on completing my graduate studies. We had disagreements, but we didn’t fight. Overall, we were happy.
Seth and I didn’t have many classes together, but our offices at school were relatively close. All of the graduate students’ offices were huddled together at one end of the department. Set up side-by-side in a U-shaped corridor, I was located at the end office where the U started (or ended) and Seth was in the curved part of the U. Two students per office, the spaces were a great place to do two things: study and socialise. I would say the socialising took precedence.
Students used to pop into each other’s offices and start a discussion on every topic related to our field of study. We talked about the geological characteristics of Iceland with its abundant supply of geothermal resources, which inevitably lead to a discrimination against our government and its lack of initiative in enforcing renewable sources of energy.
We revisited class discussions on human activity and cultural landscapes, then got excited at the thought of one day travelling to those areas. Some complained about the urban sprawl in our city and the absence of forward thinking in effective urban planning. Others ranted about geopolitical issues, natural disasters due to climate change, and anything related to geography and the environment. It was great!
Connecting to Seth
I got to know Seth in a group setting. The months went by and soon I found myself wanting to get to know him better. I started making a point of walking by his office every time I went to class. In other words, I took the long way to class. Instead of popping out of my office and taking a right, I hung a left, followed the curvature of the U-shaped corridor and peeked into Seth’s office. His office mate always seemed to be with him. I wanted to talk to him, but only if he was alone. Some one-on-one time with him was my goal.
After a few days of taking the long way to my classes, it dawned on me: What was I doing? If I was attracted to Seth, why was I trying to get to know him better? Why did I want his attention? I was married! Myles was the love of my life! I soon realized that I had to stop! This was wrong!
Thankfully my relationship with Seth had not yet developed into a close friendship. I was as close to him as the others in the group.
Disconnecting
After questioning my actions and reflecting on my marriage, I immediately stopped walking by Seth’s office and minimized my contact with him. With Seth out of sight and out of mind, the feelings never developed further.
Once our studies came to an end and after graduation, everyone went their separate ways. We never remained in contact.
I can’t help but see that U-shaped corridor as a foreshadowing of sorts. Back at University, Seth spent much of his time in his office, right in the middle of the U along that corridor. Now, twelve years later with his unexpected reappearance in my life, he’s gravitated right back to that same location. Metaphorically speaking, he’s about to take up residence at the lowest point of my happiness U-curve.
