I had a lovely conversation at work tonight and it made me think a lot about something that most romance novels have in common. 

And it leads me to the assumption that apparently everyone thinks everything about romance has to be: So Beautiful

Have you ever just sat around imagining what some of the moments of your life are going to be like? I think lots of girls do.

We imagine our first kiss. We imagine getting asked out by our crush (or maybe asking our crush out). Our first date. Our first time. We imagine getting proposed to. We imagine the wedding. We imagine a dream job, a dream house. Maybe you've even imagined your kids. 

Typically, we imagine everything.

And it's usually insanely poetic, right?

But when it happens...not so much.

So I get a bit tired of reading these stories that play out exactly how the character imagined.

Isn't this insanely unrealistic? And incredibly predictable?

Lemme just tell you how I pictured some of these big moments (and how they actually turned out).

I always thought my first kiss would be something out of a Disney movie. I thought there would be sparks and that it would taste sweet and I'd just automatically know what to do. (And I always thought it would take place under the bleachers after a football game with the field lights still on and the stars twinkling...because that's how romantic I am).

Nope. Didn't happen. I ended up getting kissed while sitting in a tree in the middle of a field, surrounded by cows, in the too hot, too bright summer sun. It smelled like manure outside and his lips tasted like Mountain Dew (and mine probably did too). And I had no idea what I was doing. And there was there very large, very disturbed looking cow just watching us. Not at all what I pictured.

I thought my first date would be something amazing like a fancy dinner, then going to see a movie, and then strolling through the streets, lit by shop lights, holding hands and laughing.

That didn't happen. My first official date, I went to a graveyard (which I was totally cool with, because I absolutely LOVE graveyards) and then he got a call from his girlfriend (that I was totally unaware he had) and had to go pick her up from work...but he was my ride...and he insisted that we could finish the date...with her...as long as she thought we were just friends (because he wasn't sure how to breakup with her yet).

I always imagined my first house with a circle drive and two large, white pillars out front and a swing, and balconies off the rooms of the second story, a bay window in the front, a large deck in the back with plenty of trees in the yard. Just big a beautiful.

I'll just tell you, my house isn't that bad...but it's not my dream. It doesn't have the windows or the swing...but there are lots of trees. And I really like trees. I also thought I'd move in with my husband after we got married, not my best friend before we were even dating.

And the people I work with had great stories for their "firsts" and I thought it was a lot more entertaining than just hearing "everything was so perfect".

One guy said his first kiss was with a girl that really liked eating onions. And another girl told a story about how a guy actually brought his mother on their first date.

But she ended up with another guy, but the guy proposed to her in the church where they first met. (And he gave her daughter the ring to hold for him. And it was so cute I almost gagged).

They were great stories! And I could totally relate to how awkward and unexpected everything was, because as you can see, absolutely everything I do ends up being awkward.

On a side note...I don't know who told all these people that their first kiss or their first time would be flawless, but they are huge liars. No. I'm sorry ladies, but there is no avoiding it. I wish I could tell you that everyone's firsts were all dreamy, but I can't lie to you guys.

It's going to be awkward as hell.

And I feel awkward just trying to be helpful...so I'll let "That 70's Show" do it for me. (Because you can learn everything about life from that show)

(I have this theory that everyone wants to read about the "player" and the "good girl" because they think that all the girl's firsts won't suck if she's with an experienced guy...but that is another huge lie. It's going to be awkward. Deal with it. Everyone's is.)

So what I'm getting at is that even though we plan these things out, they don't usually become reality.

I mean, obviously not everyone's first date isn't going to go as awful as mine did. But wouldn't it be more interesting to hear about hiccups and more relatable if the character experienced a bit of discomfort?

And when they see stars or feel fiery passion during their first kiss, I think it's boring now. Yeah, it's sweet, but I like those moments that are strange.

I think it just adds a lot more to the story if everything doesn't go perfectly. There's more to the plot and it helps develop your characters when readers see how they react to not getting things how they imagined.

And it's just more relatable. You can still have the sweet, perfect moments, but not all of them are going to be without flaw or exactly as planned. I didn't plan on getting a promise ring and my friend didn't plan on getting engaged like that, but it turned out to be really romantic.

I didn't plan my first kiss or my first date like that and they were far from romantic.

So think about that when you're doing romance. Maybe spice it up with little twists that aren't perfect.

And here's the fun part: I LOVE hearing about people's firsts, so share with me!

Tell me about your first kiss, or your first date! If you're engaged or married, tell me how he proposed or how the wedding was. Did you ever get your dream house?

Or tell me what you imagine. How many kids do you want? What's your dream job?

Don't be shy.

Tell me, tell me, tell me! Awkward or not! I wanna know!