Six Months of Love

written 04.16.25

Six months. Six months is a long time. I've done a lot in 6 months before – I worked on myself and lost a few pounds, I've collected a bunch of music and embodied it into a single device, and I've created a website where I can express myself outside of social media.

Thankfully, I haven't done that all within the same six months, but these are things that I've kept up with in that same time frame.

Instead, this time, I decided to fall in love for six months, and tomorrow marks our 6th month anniversary. 

For me, this is a pretty big deal. I was the hopeless romantic in high school and college – the one always seeking love and never finding it. I've made plenty of friends over the years, and there have been tons of people that I've been interested in – but no one has truly taken an interest in me in any serious capacity except for her, my partner.

That hopeless romantic phase was not fun, by the way. I remember when yet another crush didn't work out, it was like a switch flipped - I was just going to mind my business, and let love find me. 

I've learned a lot of things about love in my lifetime. Divorced parents, hard conversations with friends, and general observation of relationships will really put miles on a big heart like mine. It's in my nature to love, and to be loved, and to give love. I really, really enjoy the concept of love.

...which isn't always a great thing. I've seen love go right and love go wrong. I've seen love cross bumpy hills and I've seen love drive off cliffs. I've seen love be easy and I've seen love be hard. In all, I've described love as just... everything. You can see love in anything and everything, if you think about it. Love is the spray off of a rushing waterfall. Love is the little scraps of eraser when fixing a mistake. Love is the pop of a bubble blown. I know it sounds a little abstract, but you can describe love as anything.

I'm getting sidetracked. I'm not the expert of all things love, but I've seen things work and not work, and I'm trying to take those lessons and make things better in my relationship as it progresses. Communication, compromise, and sacrifice - those are the three ways that I think healthy relationships work, especially in the long run.

I met my partner on Discord. Cringe, I know, but in the world we live in today, what 'third place' do we have to meet like-minded people today? I've never liked bars, our public library is for small kids primarily, and I live and work in a small college town where I can't date anyone at my place of work. Dating apps were of little to no help and always came with a weird stigma. I was placed in an awkward spot, but that awkward spot led me to meeting the sweetest and most loving person ever.

We were long distance originally (~3 hours, which wasn't bad considering REALLY long distance relationships), but now she's living in my neck of the woods, which has the best thing for the both of us. Her living situation wasn't the best, and I was lonely, so... why not make things work together?

We've been making it work for the past six months, and I am so, so proud of the both of us. We've gotten into our fair share of disagreements and sad times. However, our good times - the laughs, the hugs and kisses, the dates, the meaningful moments - heavily outweigh those times. I've learned that every couple fights, but the recovery time is what's important. Someone has to be the bigger person and apologize, as well as be willing to make changes if needed. Those are the moments that make the relationship stronger, and we learn about each other in the process. 

It took us six months, but we're doing okay. It's time for us to start our lives as adults and live it the best we can. I'm rooting for us for another six months. I was happy before, but this is a different happiness. This is love.