It's Fall 2013. Up to this point, my relationships seemed like they were never given a chance to work out. There was always some outside force getting in the way of an otherwise blooming relationship. The most common force were Christian conservative parents from both sides getting in the middle of things, not listening to us, and always making it harder to work things out. Had we been left to our own devices, I believe any of the past relationships could have worked out, but we were never given a chance to communicate without adult supervision, and so it always resulted in sneaking out, which ultimately, always ended in tears. I suppose that's high school relationships for you, but damn, it still frustrated me that it always ended up that way, even up to my early adulthood.

Ultimately at this point, I'm feeling pretty much done. The last relationship (the one over the Summer) ended the same way they always did, and I was left burned. Mind you, I don't blame ANY of my past relationships for how things turned out. It was always the circumstance and how I handled it that broke us apart, and I will always regret those actions, or lack thereof. I'm blessed to still have good friendships with them all, and although some have disappeared from the internet, anytime I come across them as time goes by, we always embrace, and have a good conversation and catch up. I pray for nothing but prosperity and good health, for them all.

So again, it's Fall 2013, September 30th to be exact, and I'm still numb to the idea of beginning another relationship anytime soon, in fact, I've completely let it go from my mind. I was finally feeling ready to get back to socializing again, and so, I went to my local Bible study. It was a particularly full house that day, lots of new faces. The doorbell rings, and for some weird reason, I felt compelled to answer it. I open the door, and not only was there a new face, but it was also the face of the woman I'd marry. I didn't know that at the time of course, in fact, my mind was telling me, "don't even think about it", but my heart was already captivated. Her name was Jessica, and in 3 years time, she'd be my wife.

I didn't immediately talk to her that day, for it would be the NEXT Tuesday evening Bible study, where I'd finally work up the guts to talk to her. I looked around the room for a subject, saw someone with a Beatles T-Shirt, looked over at Jess, and asked her, "Hey, do you like The Beatles?" It's cheesy as fuck, but lucky for me, she LOVED The Beatles, and so we talked about our favorite songs, and later, made a date to watch "A Hard Day's Night" at the park on her laptop. From there, we'd have great conversations about God, life, and our thoughts on relationships. It turned out she too had been burned in the past, and it was our individual experiences with relationships, that would bring us closer together.

A whole month later on October 28th, I'd take the chance, and ask her out. I was feeling pretty nervous to ask, in fact, I hadn't been that nervous since the FIRST time I asked someone out. I was stuttering, rambling, and just not getting to the point. She eventually interrupted me and said yes. It was my first relationship where we felt like adults in control of our own futures, and based on my past experiences, I wasn't going to let ANYONE get in the way of this one. We always communicated, worked things out when things got tough, and even when our parents would try to get in the way, we'd stand up for ourselves, and fought and worked hard for our relationship. It's what I wish I could have done in the past, and with that said, I wasn't going to let this one slip away for ANYTHING.

Fast forward to the week of Valentine's 2014, as I chose this song in reflection of the events that had transpired up to that point, completely awestruck that I was in a relationship after thinking I'd be giving up on love once and for all, a vow that seems silly now, but it's one I felt justified in feeling back then. For the first time, I was in a relationship that NO one could get in the way of. As of typing this, we've been married for 8 years now and going strong, and it all started with the simple ring of a doorbell.