Thursday, April 9, 2009
For some, romance is quick, and ascends in a rush. For others, it makes sense to take more time. For Mary Ralstin, Shawnee alumna, and Elon Sharton-Bierig, Deerfield, Illinois, senior, the process of arriving at courtship took years.
The two were introduced in Fall 2004, during Elon’s freshman and Mary’s sophomore year. After that, they fell off of each other’s radar until she returned from studying abroad the following year. As they both spent a lot of time hanging out in Hashinger Hall, the two found themselves in mutual company often, though their chemistry did not immediately click.
Tick tock: Mary Ralstin and Elon Sharton-Bierig didn’t exactly rush into each other’s arms when they first met, but after three years, they fell for each other.
“We had a ton of mutual friends from Hash,” Mary says. “So it wasn’t just the two of us alone.”
After accompanying one another on countless all-night homework sessions, the two began to develop a mutual crush. But both were discouraged after series of missed signals and dropped cues. Finally, in Spring 2007, Elon decided to make his move. With the prospect of leaving Lawrence permanently and going to the Chicago Institute of Art, he considered his options.
“I’d really lost hope at one point,” he says.
But even in the face of this challenge, he asked her out anyway.
“I was like, ‘OK ... if you come back,’” Mary says.
Elon spent the next frenzied summer putting together a portfolio but forgetting to obtain all the required letters of recommendation. In retrospect, he thinks he subconsciously sabotaged himself so that he could return to Lawrence and give the delayed romance a shot. Their first date was in Fall 2007 and the two are planning to move in together next fall. For them, it was just a matter of time.
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