Dear Readers,

Welcome to the First Annual Rejection Awareness Week (RAW 2003).

The time has finally arrived to raise rejection awareness. Rejection, in all its forms, is the most normal and most feared part of the dating process. But behind every relationship is a risk that had to be taken. RAW 2003 is a celebration of THE RISK. It also encourages those “single and searching” to participate in the first annual International Rejection Project (see my Web site for more info on IRP). Finally, the time has come to remove the fear and celebrate THE RISK leading to love, friendship, and endless passion.

RAW 2003 is here!

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RAW 2003: The Bagger and the Russian

I was sixteen when I started working as a cashier. “Vlad” was one of the cashiers I worked with. I was attracted to him from the start. He was cashiering and I was a bagger that day (aisle 5). It was a slow day and we had a lot of time to talk. I found out that he was from Uzbekistan, the reason for his thick Russian accent. After awhile, I noticed he only worked on Sundays (he was going to school). I tried to work as many Sundays as possible, covering for anyone who needed to change a shift. Flirting with the cute “Russian” made the workday a lot more fun.

One day, I figured I’d take a chance. I asked him if he wanted to go see a performance Mahler’s 10th Symphony with my sisters and me. He answered, “Yes,” before I could even finish asking. The night was perfect. It was when we both started to fall in love with each other. I love him so much. He even taught me how to tell him in Russian. He’s currently going to college a few hours away, but we are going to move in together this summer. Every day with him keeps getting better and better.

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RAW 2003: This Friendship Rocks

My friend told me about this guy in school who was wearing my favorite band’s T-shirt (and they are not mainstream at all). I’d see the guy in the halls and thought that he was pretty cute. Second semester, we shared the same lunch period and I would see him sitting by himself. So, the next time he wore the band T-shirt, I decided to go up and talk to him. At first, I was nervous that he’d be annoyed, but then, I thought that the worst that could happen is that he wouldn’t like me and then I’d be no worse off.

Well, he wasn’t annoyed — far from it. I kept sitting with him during lunch. After a couple weeks, my friend found out that he liked me too. We exchanged numbers and started talking on the phone. We didn’t date right away, but we did end up going to the same college. It was great to have him there. Eventually, he asked me to be his girlfriend. We dated for a little while, but then we decided that we were better off being friends. While my story didn’t turn into true love, it did turn into a friendship. And I’m so grateful that I went up to that boy in the cafeteria, even if I risked looking stupid.

Read more information about RAW 2003 online at: www.helpmeharlan.com. Send in your rejection stories to [email protected]. All letters become property of the author. Copyright Harlan Cohen 2003.

Columnist Harlan Cohen will be appearing at the Ohio Union at 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 19.