Carrie posted a link to this awesome article about the reasons that "first times" for various events in life are so intense and memorable. It's really worth the read.
Obviously the article addresses first time experiences in a more broad sense, but I'd add that the thing that also shapes your "normal" for relationships is your exposure to how others operate. The part about repeating the same mistakes over and over in shitty relationships because that's what you know to be "normal" is one thing, but imagine that the precedent was further reinforced by parents or close friends. For all of the friends I've seen do just that, settle for shitty relationships, this gives a lot of context about why. No wonder they can't break the cycle!
It also makes me ask, are people destined to risky or culturally adverse behavior (cheating on spouses, audibly farting in public, base jumping off of buildings, etc.) because they just need something different to stimulate a need for those feelings? I sense that there may be a curve in life, where you start out seeking out those intense new experiences, then you want comfort from familiarity, then you go back to seeking nutty experiences, then back to familiarity. I guess that's not a curve, it's a sine wave.
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