A Strong Relationship is..

It was less than 10 years ago, when I started to live my life differently. I am an ordinary person, with nothing much, neither am I famous nor wealthy. I am not even that smart nor beautiful. But I am surely one of the people who had experiences that are worth more than anything. These experiences are one of the reasons that make me and my partner who we are today. We both knew that it is more than just what our heart feels.

The previous year of my life has been really challenging. We both felt the kind of pain we didn't know that could exist. We suffered, we both were down the rocks. But in the end, we learned a lot of things; took all of those and made us strong. For the first time in my life, I never knew that life was indeed full of surprises.

I was 14 when I first experienced being broken hearted in a way that  infatuation made. I wasn't sure why but I knew in myself that what I felt was real. It was really painful to see your love walk away from you. With all the pain that caused me, I prayed. I prayed that the pain would be over. I raised my hopes up and said to myself that one day, I will find that person who would never give up on me whatever happens; that I will never be an option but the only choice. It was an immature thought to bear, I know. But if I could meet my young self today, I would have said the same anyway. I guess that is why time machines don't exist. Because when we try to change the past, better things won't be coming our way.

I never noticed until then that time flew so fast. I thought that I wasn't able to wait or bear the patience to find "that" person. Going back from less than ten years ago, it may be at random, coincidence, or perhaps - fate that brought something in my life. The day that I met a person that will always be special and one who will forever have my heart. I fell in love. Off course, we both were young, carefree, just tried to figure out things with no regards of the future as for the moment. We only lived each day just being happy. I found myself in his and he found himself in mine. We got into arguments, fights, misunderstandings. But in the end we still found each other and that having each other was more important than fixing a fight. We were immature; we had a lot to discover; we have a lot in life to learn about and having a commitment was the least of the things we knew. We were growing apart and we were slowly realizing our differences so we decided to set it off. We found ourselves going on our separate ways. It was when we thought it was over.

A lot of things already happened. I went to college, he was in his. I had a different major and he was busy building himself out, too. We met different people along the way. We adopted someone else's principles, lived on with other people. Two years had passed and we lived a normal life. A lot can happen in a day then, what more can happen for two years? The odd thing about it is that, there was no existing connection until one day, we found ourselves crossing paths again.

We said our "hi's" and "hello's", tried to catch up with everything that has happened. Until it came to a point when we tried to dig inside ourselves and we found something that we never thought was there - each other. We both realized that even time wasn't enough to put out a flame. Once again, was it just coincidence, or was it fate that we met again? I always had a belief in this so-called, "fate". That whatever is designed to happen will happen. There can be experiences in life that we felt that fate has decided. But what actually made this fate happen is that it is made by the choices we make. There must be some kind of entity that make us do these choices. It may be God, or something else. I am not sure but I will forever thank that for bringing this person into my life.

We tried to rebuild what we once thought was lost. We lived each day, having more in depth details about each other. We were still young and still have a lot to learn. The only difference is that, we accepted each others flaws and had the best understanding of our differences. Somehow, the pain that we felt after loosing each other previously may have been one of the reasons why we try to live and accept each other no matter what. Then, we thought it was enough. We thought it was enough to say that we are stronger than anything else. We were inseparable, crazy about each other, until life happened between us.

We got our first jobs. It was a fresh start towards building our individual careers. But surely, we never forget the plans we made for the future. Once again, we thought it was enough to keep the relationship growing but there was more to it than just building the future. He learned his own lessons. He learned a lot through his job and frantically, I wasn't there beside him to learn with him. We were miles apart, but we kept the communication there. He was only able to talk his experiences with me. I got a bit insecure honestly, not because he was able to learn a lot, but it felt like I was being left behind. I thought I might not be able to catch up with him and I may not deserve him anymore. We got caught up in our work, forgot to prioritize each other and we thought it was okay. We got into misunderstandings and lasted a day without fixing it until it all build up. We never realized that until we got into a situation that caused the both of us so much pain. We were too broken to love each other back. It was the time we asked if love was enough to bring it all back together. We both took it negatively. We lost ourselves in the process of loving each other and thinking that the only option left was to close the door between us and to find ourselves back into the time when we haven't crossed paths again. We had the option of finding each other again for the third time around and took it as a sign that we were really meant to be. But no matter how much we try to set ourselves away and try to find another path alone, at the end of the road, we still gravitate towards each other. There was something that was keeping us drawn to our relationship. We both asked ourselves, "Was it really worth it to leave everything?". It was a difficult break up because we were miles apart and there was no other way that we could see each other face to face to talk about it. We agreed to let go through a long distance call. When it came to dropping the call, none of us was urging to do it first. It was indeed difficult to let go when you feel like you have to leave behind a part of you and forgetting all those years like forgetting half of your life.

He once mentioned that our relationship was built on three things: first and most important is trust then, honesty and love was the last. We were best friends. We started our relationship with trust then, comes honesty. The two first things were ruined in our relationship. Our faith and trust with each other became so weak that love was there but it wasn't enough to save the relationship. We forgot a lot of things between us: how we started, how we appreciate each other, most of all how we loved each other. It was a terrible feeling indeed. I thought I couldn't handle the situation anymore but my hopes were still up for some reason because I knew that the man that I love is still there. He just needs to be found again.

Before the year ends, we made a revelation and all happened in just one click. The minute we saw each other was the settling of ourselves. We came back to fix what was broken. As I go on each day with things already settled,  I've been growing more out of this relationship and learning things that I never knew that were actually there. We fight and disagree with each other because we care about each other. We sometimes can't control ourselves throwing words that can hurt our partner. If someone tells you that they are afraid to hurt your feelings, don't believe them. Because we cannot actually prevent ourselves from hurting the ones we love because that is one way to show understanding of each other's differences. We make our own compromise and meet in the middle. They say a strong relationship isn't measured by how long you've been together. Yes, we've been together for more than six years and counting. It wasn't only time that we had built together but we build a stronger foundation for the both of us. I truly am proud of what we've become and what we are today. It is indeed that two people sometimes need to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together. The most amazing part of this is, we learned to love each other more than how we did yesterday. We're back together as a couple and happy with the company of each other no matter how many miles apart we are. Distance didn't matter anymore. Video calls were all we have yet we smile at each other as if there is no tomorrow. Whatever is trying to tear us apart isn't a part of the equation anymore. Him and I is all that matters. It is true that couples who are meant to be are the ones who go through everything that is designed to tear them apart and still come out even stronger than before. We both can't wait to see what life has for us and we both know that we are willing to figure it out, together.

Hubbie, this is for us. Cheers for a stronger us. I love you always and forever.