May 2016, good weather, clear skies with a hint of a cool breeze; I was at a friend's house with her and her family when I met someone who I didn't know, at the time, would change everything in a matter of weeks. When we met, I was dating someone who my mind and heart were ultimately never sure deserved me; Forgive my pretentiousness, because I don't mean to sound like one. Just as expected, our relationship ended shortly after as it had too many times before. This left every part of my being vulnerable to the presence of another. When my love and I met, we started out like any two people, like friends. We were in front of the line that separated us from being together. We soon began to test the boundaries of this line; we went out with friends, never alone, always talking or laughing about something. Whether it was smiling at silly jokes or agreeing on our favorite band's songs, we were discovering more and more connections by the minute. Then, one evening, we decided to go swimming with two other friends. As it got darker, my then-best friend and I found ourselves hiding for about five minutes under a boat dock, waiting for our friends to convince a local deputy that no one was swimming; that became the beginning of our strangely romantic, yet young and somewhat naive relationship. Even if it sounds like an overwritten country song or an over-the-top teen romance movie, it's clearly real how some relationships start in strange, unplanned ways. A few days later we returned to the lake with my father and two brothers. We fished together for about an hour or two and then went swimming again. Later that day he came to the house to hang out and we basically spent the whole day together. From... middle of the paper... mutual sharing is beyond imagination. Today, my love and I find ourselves forgiving, learning to forget the negative between the two of us, as we grow with our hands entwined with gentle fingers. The horrible set of circumstances related to the previous mistake has become the main focus of what I inevitably want to avoid with anyone, in any type of context, situation or relationship. Instead of an artificial perception of what feelings should be, emotions should be spontaneous, emerging naturally. I have found inner peace regardless of what happens in the future; my past experiences in the last four months have given me new knowledge regarding self-respect; finally, I am slowly learning what individual elements make up who I am through the decisions I make and have made, knowing the difference between want and need, and loving the blessings in my life.