DE LA CRUZ, Rosie E.

[rosie de la cruz]

________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ NAME: Rosalie Emilia De La Cruz NICKNAME: Rosie HOMETOWN: Raleigh, North Carolina PROFESSION: Economics Major at Cornell University SIDE HUSTLE: Part-Time Spin Instructor SIGNATURE SCENT: Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb ICE CREAM FLAVOR: Butter Pecan FAVORITE COLOR: Amber COFFEE PREFERENCE: French Press DRINK ORDER: Vodka Soda with Fresh Lime Juice MOST EXPENSIVE POSSESSION: De Grisogono earrings from Tate MOST PRIZED POSSESSION: Grandmother's Antique Clock LAST PLAYED ON SPOTIFY: The Night We Met - Lord Huron LAST PURCHASE: Macroeconomics - Theory Through Application MOST PURCHASED: Ubers to Tate's apartment TELEVISION BINGE: Stay Here on Netflix LIPSTICK COLOR: Mac Russian Red FAST FOOD: Subway FIRST IMPRESSION: Big eyes, big lips, big opinions LAST IMPRESSION: Big brain, big goals, big time over her head ________________________________________________ JONAS, 28 BEST KNOWN FOR: Being the father figure they never had PREACHES: Responsibility PRACTICES: Construction Work & Anger Management WILL NEVER MISS: Family dinners WILL ALWAYS MISS: Evening outings past 11pm LOVES: His wife & son LOATHES: Their father, wherever he may be now ALINA, 27 BEST KNOWN FOR: Her laugh PREACHES: Respect PRACTICES: Elementary school education WILL NEVER MISS: After hours drinks WILL ALWAYS MISS: AA meetings LOVES: Phone conversations LOATHES: Being called an alcoholic ROSIE, 21 BEST KNOWN FOR: Her smarts looks PREACHES: A good education PRACTICES: Economics at Cornell WILL NEVER MISS: Class WILL ALWAYS MISS: Confrontations with Tate's ex-girlfriends LOVES: Her boyfriend (Shh) LOATHES: What money can do to just about anyone BEN, 19 BEST KNOWN FOR: Playing lacrosse PREACHES: Work ethic PRACTICES: Lacrosse/Sport Management at UNC WILL NEVER MISS: Games WILL ALWAYS MISS: Greek life events LOVES: Good old fashioned workouts LOATHES: When people quit ________________________________________________ Coffee or Tea Silver or Gold Home Cooked or Fine Dining Early Riser or Night Owl Coke or Pepsi Chocolate or Vanilla Books or Movies All Inclusive or AirBnB Spontaneous or Prepared Bacon or Eggs Beach or Mountains Cats or Dogs Vintage or Designer Saver or Spender Mild or Spicy Whiskey or Wine Winter or Summer Take Out or Dine In Floral or Fruity Give or Take ________________________________________________ TATE: What's up? Can you meet me at my dorm? We need to talk. Message Read: 11:36pm I am easily impressed by the smallest of gestures. Maybe if I'd let him know that in advance, we would have avoided the "break" we don't try to reference, but most of the times I think it was the best solve to the situation. For example, when we met in our general statistics class sophomore year, I noticed that he'd always put his phone away when class started. Not that that ever prohibited anyone from perusing the internet while "taking notes", or using the iMessage app on your laptop, but it was something I remembered about him when we ended up in the same group for a mid-semester project that counted for 30% of our grade. I also remembered that he was glued to the damn thing when we actually had to work outside of class hours. He tried to chat me up once or twice but I wouldn't give him the time of day, not when I ultimately turned in an assignment that was 90% my effort. I eviscerated him in our anonymous peer grading session. Wonder if he ever found out about that... Regardless, I heard the whispers a few days after that. And I knew it was a bigger deal than I expected when Nora, my roommate to this day, asked me about him. Her eyes went wide when I shrugged, mentioned him as someone who probably should have thanked me for their passing grade. Fun fact, I've still never Googled him. He got my number from a friend of a friend a few days later, and before I knew it we were on a helicopter tour of Ithaca. It was beautiful, and I was genuinely surprised that we got on so well over the beat of the helicopter blades. After a picnic, and my running commentary that I felt like I was on an episode of The Bachelor, we kissed on the steps of my dorm and it felt like a fairytale. Over time, that feeling of magic would eventually fade to dread. It's not that I wasn't appreciative - I was. But it felt like a lifestyle I could never keep up with, let along actually belong to. I grew up with a single mother, our dad having walked out on all of us when Ben was 4 months old. She'd worked three jobs to provide for us, and in turn we took on what we could as soon as we were old enough. The world of living paycheck to paycheck was and still is incredibly real, and the only reason I was even able to go to Cornell was a combination of an academic scholarship and part time jobs that could put a dent in my impending student loans. Tate, on the other hand, came from money. Grew up with it, his friends have it, he's gained enough followers because of it. At times it would consume him, obsessed with social media and documenting our times together at the next luxurious place, satisfied when the comments hit his imaginary mark. Other times he would be in the trenches of the library like me for days on end, perfectly content to order delivery right to the steps so we didn't have to leave. It was like I was dating two people, and he couldn't figure out which one he wanted to be as much as I could. When he casually offered that I move in about 5 months into our relationship, that it "made sense", I couldn't do it any longer. I'd been feeling the social pressure on top of academic stress, and to me, what "made sense" was to end what we had. Relieve one to aid another. That, and I couldn't handle the over-the-top, expensive gestures. It wasn't me to get used to bought out restaurants or extravagant jewelry that could have been car payments. It was guilt mixed with anxiety and bouts of self doubt, being brushed off by his sister, running into one too many of his ex-girlfriends on campus. I wasn't anything like them, and in turn I didn't think we'd ever be able to be on the same page. It was hard, to break up with him like that. To ask for time and space when he asked to fix it, or what he could do. When he wouldn't stop calling over winter break. But it gave me the clarity I needed to be able to speak to him again when his letter showed up, when I knew he understood on some aspect where it had become too much. We were back together the moment we returned to Ithaca, and I don't think either of us have really looked back since. It's still a bit of a give and take - he flits between his instagram and our personal life, I flirt for attention when his falls away - but I love that boy. Even when I won't admit that out loud quite yet. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

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