Narcaplexy 101: Dating in College

I've had quite the crazy first week here at college! One week of Band Camp, one week of actual classes, and the three-day weekend that Labor Day bestows upon us. In that time, I've done so much and made so many friends that it's hard to believe! My new college life is everything I'd ever hoped it to be.

While I HAVEN'T been running around off-campus housing getting ridiculously wasted from cheap alcohol and making a fool of myself like so many movies portray the average college experience to be, I HAVE made a ton of friends, been a part of some late night homework parties in the lounge, completely destroyed any resemblance of a normal healthy eating schedule that I might've had, and met a really great guy who lives in my building and definitely likes me back :)

If you know anything about the high school I went to, you'll know what I mean when I say that being in a class of 700+ freshmen is a big adjustment. My graduating class from high school? Four (4) students, including me. The campus I live on now is home to 4,000 other people my age and a bit older. You can imagine how surreal it is to me, to be able to walk to a class four blocks away from my room and not see a single familiar face. I kind of like it, really. And of course, there are lot more guys at college than there were at my high school. Guys that I live in the same building with and see every day. Any girl in this position would be excited, but a girl who graduated with only two other boys? It's more at a little-kid-in-a-candy-store level of excitement ;)

Remember that guy I wrote about in my last post? The nice guy I met in the laundry room of my building and ran into at a Weekend of Welcome dance later that night? Well right now he's eating pizza and watching Sherlock Holmes with me; our own Labor Day celebration since 2/3 of the campus has gone home until Monday.

I've spent the past week fretting about telling him about me, about my Narcaplexy and all the potentially embarrassing bits that comes with my lifetime diagnosis. How would he react to hearing that I have a constant struggle with staying awake? And what about the fact of collapsing when I experience "strong emotions"? I love laughing, any guy I'm with had to be able to make me laugh or it's just not complete for me. If we decide to make this into a relationship, thus spending a lot more time and experiences together than friends, will he be okay with having to be the one to help me when my body thinks I'm starting a dream and I collapse to the floor? Flirting alone presents a problem for me. Teasing, laughing, meeting the people in his life... The inevitable minor fighting or jealousy? Getting involved with someone creates a lot of subconscious emotions that we don't deal with everyday, and some I've probably never experienced in my life.

As an average hormonal 18-year-old girl, my muscles betray me when I so much as walk by a cute guy, let alone smiling and talking to one. What will happen with a guy that has feelings for me, feelings I return? This is all new to me; so many questions, so many answers I'll have to discover my own.

Back to my week of fretting: I was so worried of scaring him off, having him think I was a freak and deciding that the likely normal bubbly brunette he'd been dancing with the other night would be a safer bet. My friends told me not to worry, if he was as cool as I made him out to be he'd be totally accepting of me, sleep disorder and all. Just approach the subject naturally and don't make a big deal out of it. Okay, so now I had to make it as casual as a conversation about the weather or he might realize I was making a big deal of it and worry... no pressure? And all this while I had to act normal around his friends who also had no idea or they might all think I was a slurring clumsy drunk and they'd ALL avoid me. While living on a campus with 4,000 strange faces, usually coming home at night almost too tired to handle the hike upstairs to the 3rd floor. No problem, right? :S

Well I finally told him. One morning, when he came upstairs to hang out with me. I was online trying to see when True Life: I Have Narcolepsy would be on next, thinking that would be a great conversation starter. "Hey look, that's me! Yeah, the one that just fell on her face in dance class..." No such luck, so when he asked what I was up to I flat out told him what I was looking for. This began the next 10-15 minute conversation of explaining everything, and finally telling him what I'd been so scared about. He assured me not to worry, he's not so that easy to get rid of... As if I had ANY intention to! ;)

And he's sure proved to be great about it. Keeping my naps in mind and reminding me to sleep when I start to slur but have no desire to pass out for 30 minutes, watching out for my clumsiness, being cautious when he makes me laugh and stopping when I tell him to so I can regain composure. He even reminded me to take my medicine one morning when he'd noticed I hadn't! The best was when he made a disappointed comment to my roommate, Beckah, about not being able to start a tickle war with me. I laughed and promised him if he was good then I'd explain the rules of tickle wars with a cataplectic--he cheered right up!

Things truly couldn't have gone any smoother with him. I'm so glad that he's accepting and protective and mindful of my daytime sleep schedule and my limitations from cataplexy. I really feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now :)