“I’m single. I’m staying with my parents right now. I’m trying to move on. But I haven’t had any good luck with women recently. Mostly because I’m working all the time in the plants.

“It’s so hard to find time to go out and meet new people. When I used to work in restaurants, I’d have a normal 40-hour week. I’d have more opportunity to go out with my friends. Now, I just don’t have the time.

“I’d like to meet somebody at some point. Hopefully, before I turn 30. That’s my goal. I feel like 30 is the age where it’s kind of getting late. I have a few years to go yet. So I’m hoping something happens. I’m trying to stay optimistic.”

— Angel Izaguirre

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“We met through a mutual friend. She wanted to take us on a blind date with her and a friend of his that she was dating at the time. It was supposed to be the following Friday, but we ended up meeting before it ever happened.”

“We cheated. We had each other’s names, so she reached out to me on Facebook.”

“Well, I just kind of wanted to be nosey and find out who I was going on a date with. I couldn’t not know.”

How quickly did you realize you had a connection?
“It was pretty immediate. More than anything for me, it was the fact that his family is so close to him and his son is so important to him.

The post Blind date turns into romance for couple with kids appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“Well, to be honest with you, my challenge is finding a respectful man in my life. I’m very picky. Very particular. I’m not argumentative, but I can be very stern and very hard sometimes. I don’t like being that hard, but that’s just me. So if I do find someone, I’ll try to work on that.

“I have dated, but I can’t find one to be obedient. It’s very hard for me to encounter a man that I can trust.

“I was a single mom for a long time. My children are older now. They’re happy and able to take care of themselves, so that’s a blessing.

“I’m still hopeful of finding someone. But as you get older, you become more settled in your life and you don’t necessarily want to be bothered with the how and the where, you know what I mean?”

— Stacey Ceasar

The post Finding the right man can be problematic appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“Something that we’re facing a lot is dating violence or unhealthy relationships. Some of the girls aren’t necessarily being physically abused, but there’s a lot of emotional abuse. Their boyfriends are talking ugly to them or being very controlling, like constantly checking their phone or not letting them do this or that.

“Many of these girls are being told by others, well, just leave. But it’s not that simple, especially when some of them have children. It’s much more complicated for a 17- or 18-year-old who has a 1-year-old child to just pick up and leave.

“So I provide a safe space, what’s called holding space, to mostly just be with the students and listen, ask questions and kind of guide them in finding the right answers.

“So often, people in their lives are telling them what to do. But it’s hard to figure out what you really want to do and should do when you never have the space to process it and figure it out on your own.

“That’s one of the most important things for anyone looking for change, whether leaving a bad relationship or even when it comes to drug addiction or alcohol addiction. You have to want that change for yourself. It has to come from within you, not from somebody telling you what to do, how to do it or where to go.

“Whenever you finally do see those kids who have gone on to be successful and they come back and tell you, I have my life together and I’m moving forward, it is a bright, shining moment. You have to really hold onto that, because not every kid gets to that point.”

— Rachel Barajas Flinn

Related:

• Mom looks forward to teaching her son well

The post Social worker provides ‘safe space’ for teen girls appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“We’re not married, but we’re close to being married. We met on Match.com about three years ago. So, yeah, it really can work. Of course, it didn’t work for about five years before that.”

Will you eventually get married?
“Well, we don’t know yet. It could go either way. As long as I don’t piss her off too bad.”

“We’re learning to get along, you know. To me, if it makes sense for us to get married and we want to get married, we will. Otherwise, it’s more of just a legal thing. I’m committed to the relationship and to him.”

“All right. Are you recording this? Can you send me a copy?”

— Kathleen Tavary Lemon and Mickey Beard

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“I’m single, but I’d like to be seeing someone. The challenge nowadays is that girls just want to go party. I’d like to find someone who wants to relax around me, not just go out all the time spending money. It’s hard to find somebody like that, but I keep trying.

“I’m not a picky person. If I can find someone who knows how to relax and who respects herself at all times, that’s what matters most to me.”

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“My biggest challenge right now is getting a girlfriend. I haven’t been meeting many chicks lately.”

What’s been the problem?
“I haven’t been getting out much. I’ve got schizophrenia. I’ve been struggling with it for about five years. I started to hear voices in my head and really had no clue what was going on. I’ve been taking medicine, which helps, but it still comes back every now and then.”

Related:

• Oh where, oh where are those golden arches?

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