Returning to school after a semester abroad (or winter break) forces your body to get back in gear, even when it might not be ready. The strain of new classes, professors and deadlines can make even the excitement of a visit from your long distance partner stressful.
When a long distance lover comes to visit you, it's a little like being a nymphomaniac who volunteers for conjugal visit day at the local prison. All of your pent up feelings and desires come bubbling to the surface and your friends know that you will be out of reach for at least 24 hours. But after the initial desire to rip each other's clothes off, your adrenaline begins to ebb. If it's been awhile since you've been together, fighting inertia can be difficult.
In our time apart, my libido was raging, but my sexual inertia had almost ground to a halt. So when he came to visit last week, libido conquered inertia, and once we were together it was full steam ahead.
When discussing sex in scientific terms, the fields of biology and chemistry are usually broached, but inertia springs from physics. When starting any new relationship, or even when getting ready to go out for the night, it is surprising how accurate this term is in describing how we operate. The law that describes inertia states that an object in motion will tend to stay in motion, while an object at rest will tend to stay at rest.
When I started seeing my flight attendant guy, it seemed like another quick relationship that I had grown accustomed to beginning and ending in the space of a couple weeks. As it progressed, my inertia was pulling me away, telling me to move on and continue the course I had been taking. I had to force myself to slow down.
This law applies to the end of relationships, as well. After a recent break up, my friend didn't have any motivation to go out and meet anyone new. When your body has been at rest in a relationship, it takes some energy to get going again.
There is one last case where I think this law applies. One of my other close friends recently admitted that heterosexuality was not for her. She found it difficult at first to get used to the idea of hooking up with girls and even telling her friends that she was gay. But as the clich? implies, once the ball gets rolling, it becomes hard to stop.
Our sexual behavior can have a lot to do with biology. Our sexes and sexualities are determined at birth. If we are tall and muscular, we may gravitate toward partners that appear the same, or maybe crave the opposite. The chemistry of our hormones also has a lot to do with how and when we develop, and what draws us to one another. If you didn't know before, you know now that physics plays a part, as well.
It may seem difficult to start a new relationship, move on after a breakup or get used to a new realization about your sexuality. The truth is there; there is no need to rush. We all move at different speeds. Some of us aren't meant to race from one sexual liaison to the next. The most important thing to recognize is which pace is best for you.
When trains pull away from the station, they move slowly at first and gradually pick up speed as momentum builds. You will never ease into a relationship if you don't put the brakes on, and you will never find yourself a new one without putting your foot on the gas.
