A Love Story Unfolds: Hello September

At 34, I had made peace with being single. I was building a life that I loved, lifting heavy at the gym, spoiling myself with solo coffee walks, curating playlists that felt like love letters to my own soul. I told myself, “When it happens, it happens.” But secretly, I wasn’t even sure if it ever would.

Because here’s the thing about dating in today’s world: it often feels like a series of half-efforts. The men who only want to message but never make plans. The ones who think “come to my place” counts as a first date. The ones who mistake my softness for weakness or my standards for intimidation. I stopped chasing love that didn’t feel real. I stopped lowering my voice, my boundaries, my worth. And in that quiet space of simply being myself, something extraordinary happened.

Love found me.

Recently, I reconnected with someone from my childhood, someone who had always been in my orbit but never in my arms. And somehow, the universe nudged us closer at exactly the right time. It wasn’t forced. It wasn’t searched for. It wasn’t swiped on. It just… happened.

And here I am, experiencing a different type of love. The kind I always imagined but was never willing to settle for less than. The kind that feels like exhaling after years of holding my breath. The kind that makes all the “almosts” and heartbreaks finally make sense.

With the world buzzing about Taylor Swift’s engagement, I can’t help but smile. Because if there’s one thing she’s taught me through her music, her heartbreaks, and now her happiness, it’s that timing is everything. You don’t always get to plan love. You don’t always get to demand it on your schedule. But when it shows up? You’ll know.

And here’s what I know now:

I wasn’t too much. I wasn’t too complicated. I wasn’t asking for too much. I was simply waiting for someone who was ready to meet me exactly where I am.

I used to think I had to find love, but the truth is, love found me, when I wasn’t looking, when I wasn’t scrolling, when I wasn’t begging for crumbs. It found me when I was whole.

And maybe that’s the most beautiful lesson of all: you don’t have to chase what’s already meant for you.

So this September, as the air shifts and the seasons turn, I’m stepping into this new chapter with gratitude for timing, for love that feels like home, and for the magic of being surprised by your own happily ever after.

Because sometimes, the love of your life was in your story all along, you just hadn’t turned the page yet.