In Plato’s Symposium Aristophanes, a Greek playwright, recalled a myth that humans were once wise and noble creatures with four arms, four legs and two heads. According to the myth, these humanoid creatures rivaled the power of the gods.
Zeus, realizing he could both humble the humans and double his sacrifice profit margins, split each of these humans into two new creatures, each with two arms, two legs and one head.
Now only half of what they once were, these new humans were miserable. They wallowed in their sadness, taking no action, experiencing no joy, not caring whether they lived or died.
Apollo, seeing the pathetic state of the human race, took pity on the plight of humanity. He sewed up the human exterior, exhorting them to find their other half in order to be complete.
According to the myth, each of us are but half a greater whole. Regardless of whether the myth is true, it is true that many long to find their soulmate, someone who completes them.
Given nearly everyone, at some point in their life, will fall in love, the experience is barely beyond ordinary. That being said, most anyone who’s experienced love would beg to differ.
Romeo and Juliet, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar. Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater. Some love stories, fictional or not, become a part of our culture. These are the stories of the rest of us.
“They say one of the best things you can do to find out if a relationship will work or not is to travel, like take a long road trip together. We drove back from Maine– 32 hours. Yeah, 32 hours in the car,” Kolter Izatt, a Junior majoring in Psychology, said.
“And I didn’t want to just die or hide under my bed after. In fact, I was only home for maybe an hour before I went back over to her house.”
Kolter Izatt and Savannah Comstock, a Senior majoring in Speech Language Pathology, have been dating for 9 months as of tomorrow; they’re now engaged with their wedding scheduled for July 22, 2023.
“From then on, there’ve been little moments where I would randomly think like, ‘oh, I can’t wait to just spend the rest of my life with her,’ and it would almost surprise me that I was thinking that, but it just kind of made sense,” Kolter said.
Despite Kolter having a more extroverted nature, he and Savannah feel they complete each other– they feel whole together.
“I’m a super introvert and I don’t like people in my space. Especially for extended periods of time,” Savannah said.
“And I just don’t mind him always being here. Like, I never feel like I want to kick him out, which is huge for my introverted heart.”
Their whole connection started in a relatively ordinary way.
“We met at church,” Kolter said.
“I saw [a friend] talking with two girls in the chapel, and I walked over. I thought one of them was really hot, so I started talking with her. We talked for almost an hour, and then we both left.”
Kolter wasn’t about to let that be the end of the story though.
“And I was like, ‘Crap, what was her last name?!’ I wanted to look her up on Facebook, see if I could contact her that way because I didn’t want to wait a week to talk to her again,” Kolter said.
“I wanted to, you know, make that contact, ask her out on a date, all that fun stuff that I was too scared to do in person.”
“I thought it was funny because he had messaged me before I’d even gotten home,” Savannah said. “And I thought it was cute.”
Despite the fact that people meet at social gatherings like church quite regularly, the two consider their meeting something special.
“I think I was at the lowest point in my life that Sunday. It was not a good time,” Savannah said.
“My friend and I were just trying to bail out of there, but then this guy I hadn’t met came over and stopped us, just to talk.”
“And had I not seen [my friend] talking to those girls, I wouldn’t have come over,” Kolter added.
They believe a greater power, not just their friend, guided them to each other.
“My mom taught me, if you establish a relationship with God, everything will work out the way it’s supposed to, when it’s supposed to. Which is such a difficult concept, I think, unless you’ve lived it,” Savannah said.
“I kind of felt the same way, and had just expected to have to wait a while longer. You know, maybe I’d have to move around, that kind of stuff, and then it just happened. Everyone always says that it happens when you’re not expecting it, and then they’re kind of right,” Kolter added.
“So just give it time, be patient, pray, you know, be a good dude.”
The two are thrilled to be starting a new life together. They feel valued, and appreciate the other for who they really are.
“This may sound cheesy, but I just feel safe. Like, I don’t have to worry about me with him or him with me or what I’m thinking or doing. I don’t have to be anybody different,” Savannah said.
“The thing I really appreciate about Savannah is that she might get upset, but she’s never upset for very long. She’s a really forgiving person. She’s always there for me,” Kolter said.
“She loves me for who I am. Even with all the mistakes I’ve made.”
