I admit that I am not especially qualified to write this article. I'm not a poet, I'm not a philosopher. I'm just a person who's romantic at heart and takes chances when he sees them. Every great heart, and most great minds, have attempted to convey the feelings that true love creates in the human spirit, and I'm hesitant to embarrass myself or insult you, dear reader, by telling you how or why it happens. Because in all honesty, I have no idea.

So here goes. There is no method to it. There is no logic or reason to it. There is no plan, there is no iron-clad pick up line or scheme that will win the heart of the person you admire. It's all chance. That sucks, I know, but there's really not too much we can do about it. That's the bad news. Now here's the good.

There is one thing that you can do to win love in your life: It's the single variable that we control in a universe that makes up its own rules about who falls in love and who doesn't.

We can try.

Try you say? Yep. Here, I'll explain.

When you see that person that rockets your heart into your throat just by looking at you, the person that seems, well...just more than everyone you've seen before, you have a chance. A single shining moment to change your life and maybe your destiny. This chance may be the only one of your life, or the only one with a person who could be your future. And you'll know it. Choosing to acknowledge it is up to you, but you will know the moment when it comes.

It's easy to say, "Doesn't matter that I did nothing, because it wouldn't have worked anyway." But that's a weak excuse. You have one life, one shot to do things on your terms. And considering the beauty and power of youth is only a fraction of that time — which will fade before you know it — it seems wise to take advantage of it while you can. Try something, anything at all. Whatever you're comfortable with, whatever they respond to. If it's meant to be, it will happen. And all you have to do (after summoning the initial amount of courage to make a move) is hold on for the ride. Everything else after this moment will take care of itself.

You have to forget your fear of rejection, of embarrassment, or even humiliation and walk up to him or her and say "Hi." Maybe nothing will happen. Maybe he or she is already involved or just not interested, but maybe none of this is true. Maybe sparks will fly — and you'll know the first time that they smile at you that they're meant for you.

And wouldn't that be cool?

Again, I'm no expert. I'm just learning how to handle love in my life as we speak, but I am certain, down to the very fabric of my being, that without trying when you have the chance, you're wasting what could be the most special time in your life. And what's worth that? Pride? Nope.

So just be careful and be sure that you know what you're getting into. You certainly can't look for love, because due to one of the great ironies of life, it only comes when you stop looking. I used to prowl at parties...not so much looking for "the one" so much as just looking. It was fun, and I like new people. But when I found love, or rather, when it found me, it smacked me in the head like a bag of hammers on a night when I just went to dance. It was probably the most honest moment in my life — when I just didn't give a shit about much at all. I was truly within myself, happy where I was at, and BAM! there it was. For the first time in my life, I wasn't looking for anything, and I found everything. Lucky me....

Here's the point, obtuse as it may be: we are all looking for a partner. Someone to share the things that are special to us, someone that makes experiences more worthwhile in some intangible way that cannot be replaced and can hardly be understood. And wouldn't it be keen to find someone with enough in common to make that just a little bit easier?

After all, relationships aren't the easiest thing to plan. It's ridiculous to limit yourself to one type of person, or one that only has specific things in common with you. After all, there's a lot of things I haven't tried. Maybe the right girl could bring out my deeply, deeply buried love of line dancing or something. Who knows? I seriously doubt that, but it would be presumptuous to deny the possibility.

Anyway, back to the point. I'm getting old when compared to the average age of kids at parties, and in all this time, I have never made any sort of connection that lasted. Admittedly, it's difficult to really know your emotions when they're clouded with various substances, and this is made even more challenging because of the basic nature of parties, especially over the last couple of years.

I'll spare you my sentiments on what's changed, on how the sense of community is different, on how my age and perspective have altered any perceptions I have and have had about parties in general, but I'll say this: there is a certain amount of attitude in every person at every party. This isn't a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it's one of the things I love. I like to watch the beautiful people and their followers, the wise and the green...all sorts show themselves in that environment. But the attitude of what's cool and what's not can have some serious consequences on any interpersonal action that takes place. With barriers that are thrown up at parties, it's a wonder anyone ever finds anyone. It's loud, dark, crowded, and swimming with different people into different things in different states, but cemented with a common love of the music and the scene. Amazing, the things we overcome to find people....

So here's my grand statement on how to meet that perfect party boy or girl: turn around and smile. You can't go looking for things that should be looking for you. Enjoy yourself — you're there to party. But maybe, just maybe if you're lucky, you'll turn around and smile at a beautiful person that's at the same place in his or her life that you are — that's meant for you — and he or she will smile back. And you'll know. You'll know that's your moment, and when it passes it will be gone forever, so you take it. You act, and they respond. And then the touch, the conversation, and the kiss are unlike anything that you've ever known or hoped to know.

And that's all there is to it. Simple enough?

How likely are you to find love one starry night? Be sure to see how approachable you are by taking the Lunar quiz!