When we were little, we were told stories and fairy tales of princesses and princes, falling in love and living happily ever after. As we grow up there is more depth added to the stories, things become more complex, but the romance is always there, and love always prevails. We become teenagers and deal with hormones and teenage dramas. We watch shows from Hollywood and movies through rose-tinted glasses.
All of these stories, for me at least, built a false image of what a relationship should be like. It wasn’t until I was in my first long-term relationship did I learn what being in a relationship really means. When you come into something with the expectations of pure love and that everything is always perfect, it instills a sense of fear when suddenly things aren’t always so rosy. But unfortunately, many people are in relationships with people who do things that annoyed them. Why don’t they just ‘veto’ it ahead of time when they notice an annoying habit before it develops, and try to prevent any resentment from developing? But once love is involved, everything changes, because no emotion is simple, and no emotion can be rationalized.
But it’s more than just love, although love does tend to be the underlying reason for the following things. Being in a relationship with someone means having someone there, to share things with, the good and the bad. Once you’re in a relationship, your lives become one. It’s hard to watch someone you love suffer, and you want to support them as much as you can. Similarly, it’s far more gratifying to share wonderful things in life with someone else, instead of appreciating or celebrating alone. Having someone to share things with, makes the difficult moments in life just a tad bit lighter, and the sweeter moments of life even sweeter. Being in a relationship is about truly living your lives together, embracing what life throws at you, and enjoying it; together.