A lot can happen in a year. In fact, if you had asked me a year ago how I thought my life would go over the course of this past year, I wouldn’t have had the slightest of a clue just how positively my life would be changed.
Granted, I am a lucky girl. I have a loving family, the best of girlfriends(and guy friends too), I’m excited for my future career path and I have things in my life that give me much joy. But ultimately, I struggle with my mental health and that affects the ways in which I relate to others, particularly with men.
Being in a college environment, eager for friendship and connection has led me to some situations that have ultimately hurt me and gave me a negative perception on the male population. The ol ‘all men are trash’ saying became my motto sometime at the beginning of my sophomore year of college.
As I’ve grown older and worked incredibly hard on myself throughout my college career, I found myself having more legitimate and healthier connections with men. But it wasn’t until I met my current boyfriend, nearly a year ago to this date, that I’ve felt that I was ready for something real.
I know what you’re thinking. ‘You’re so young.’ ‘How can you be so sure?’ ‘Don’t you feel like you’re missing out on the college experience?’ These are all questions coming from people who have never felt this kind of connection with a partner. My boyfriend and I are young, yes. As odd as it sounds, I am sure. And no, I don’t feel like I’m missing out on the college experience. If you consider drunken hookup culture a part of the so called ‘college experience,’ then that’s fine. But those kinds of decisions don’t make me feel good.
This is also not an article about needing a man to make yourself happy. It was the work that I’ve done on myself that has led to me partake and receive this kind of love and affection. By finding healthier ways to relate to others has helped me maintain my own needs and in turn given me the biggest blessing I have ever been bestowed.