It happens everyday in Vegas: someone throws some dice, pulls the handle of a slot machine or calls for one more hit in blackjack. People gamble with the hopes of some reward. But that’s the mystery of gambling: you never know if you’re going to win or lose. It’s the same in the romance casino.
We all have our strategies, but in the end, it’s all up to chance. There is no telling if the person we are interested in will ever feel the same way. You could come home with nothing but pain or you could hit the jackpot and begin an amazing relationship. So how do we decide when it’s good to gamble and when it’s time to step out of the casino?
Though the odds may not always be the best, sometimes you just have to take the chance. Often we try to analyze things and don’t pay enough attention to what we’re really feeling. If we think about something too much, there might never be an opportunity for something great to happen.
“The reason I would say not to follow your head is that if you do the logical thing, you’ll never know what could have happened and you won’t learn anything,” said senior Danielle Durso. “It could become something you never expected.”
If we always play it safe in order to protect ourselves from being hurt, how would we ever begin relationships? All we can hope for is that sometime down the road, we can look back and say, “I’m glad I took the chance. It definitely paid off in the end.”
But when is it time to cash in our chips and leave the casino to protect ourselves from losing too much? Sophomore Neil Wingkun does not see the need for that too often. He said to keep the possibility open “if it’s important to you and there’s hope.”
“If you’re willing to take the risk, then hope is more important than protecting yourself.” He added, “Go ahead and get the shit kicked out of you by love.”
There do come times when you need to call it quits, when it becomes dangerous to keep your heart out there in the open. If it has been months and the person is still showing no interest in you, it’s probably time to accept it and move on to someone new.
Durso said problems can emerge when “you’ve hit an issue that’s important to you that you disagree on, or if there’s something the person can’t give to you and you realize that neither is willing to give on the issue.”
But how do you close off your heart to someone you’ve been interested in for so long? It differs for every person: entries in a journal, throwing away reminders of them, long talks with friends, wild parties with your frat brothers or concentrating your attention on your next paper. For some it may take a few weeks, for others a few months. But sometimes it must be done to save yourself from incredible hurt and to open your eyes to new prospects.
The decision is ultimately in the hands of you, the gambler. You may have a four-of-a-kind, but there might be a royal flush out there. Do you go for it? It’s your choice. Should you risk it or is it time to fold?
“Definitely follow your heart – love is illogical,” said Wingkun. The odds may be against you, but is that enough to stop the quest for a reward? Is there really any greater reward than discovering mutual feelings between you and that someone? Though you may try to do your part to control it, it’s ultimately a game of chance. Who knows what will happen? You might just hit the jackpot and find true love.