time

I get it, I really do. At first he was so into you, you almost thought it was a little much, but he was cute as well as smart and so enamored with you that you decided to give him a chance. And once you went for it, you felt like you were falling (or flying). You spent every day and night together. He made you feel like you were the only woman in the world, until he didn’t.

Just like flipping a switch, suddenly things were different. You can't pinpoint the exact moment things changed, but you've certainly replayed old conversations in your mind searching for the one clue that turned the tide of your relationship. You excuse your lack of connection with cliches like "nothing's perfect" and justify that when two people from different backgrounds get together, of course there's going to be rough patches. You rationalize that you'll get back to where you were; after all, you've invested so much time, energy, and love that it has to work.

The reality is, though, that none of these investments matter. In the name of love, we trust, we leap, we sacrifice, we agonize, and sometimes, we hurt. We change our friends, our vocabulary, and our opinions. We become so invested in being a "we" that we lose sight of the fact that relationships are about one person and one person only; you.

You might be thinking, how can this be when there are two of us in this relationship? While it's true that there are two people in a relationship, it's our time spent within these relationships that allows us to come into a greater understanding of ourselves. Throughout your life others will walk beside you, but at the end of the day, this is your journey.