Move For You
The key takeaway from Olandria's Love Island Journey
“You thought I was moving for you? I was moving for me.”
My jaw dropped when 25-year-old islander Taylor said this to Olandria in front of everyone during the Stand on Business episode, a challenge that prompted the islanders to keep it real about the feelings they may have been keeping to themselves. Those words hit me through the screen, because Taylor was right. He was thinking about himself in his process of finding love. Olandria, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking about herself enough. And that’s a mistake I see a lot of young Black women make when it comes to dating.
Olandria chose to keep exploring things with Taylor, even though the signs were there that he wasn’t that into her. And I get why my sista moved that way. Even though we didn’t really see Taylor connect emotionally, we saw him plan dates, cook her breakfast, anything that would ignite that spark. To be fair, I think Taylor tried. I think he really did make an effort to build something with Olandria, but it just wasn’t clicking. We thought maybe he was a slow burner. Maybe he needed time to grow into the connection. I’m sure that’s what Olandria thought too.
There were other Islanders, like Jalen, who were interested in Olandria. But her priority was still Taylor. You can tell she wanted to create that spark between them by coaching him on how he could be more affectionate with her. Only to find out he didn’t need coaching at all, because when someone he really wanted came in, we saw how much effort he was capable of.
Clarke came into the villa, and everything changed. Taylor lit up in a way we hadn’t seen before. That told us everything we needed to know. We saw Olandria carry herself with so much poise the whole time. But when she finally expressed how hurt she was that Taylor didn’t think about her feelings the way he did Clarke’s, that moment felt real. And it was clear, Taylor wanted Clarke.
But that wasn’t the end of Olandria’s story. She got another shot at love with Nic, who’s been into her since the beginning. Am I confident that Nic is Olandria’s person? No. But I don’t think that’s the point. What matters is that she’s giving herself the experience of being pursued and genuinely wanted. Whether it works out or not, it’s a step in the right direction, and it’ll give her more clarity on the kind of man she wants in the long run.
Choosing to give it a shot with Nic was the first time Olan put herself first. She didn’t consider a friend or another man, only her own happiness. I think a lot of us could see ourselves in Olandria’s experience. Whether you’re a first generation, first daughter, glue of the family, or doing anything in life where others are the priority, your love life should be a space where you can put yourself first. Don’t force it. Don’t try to teach someone how to love you. Keep your options open and most importantly move for you!