The month of March marks one year and five months that my boyfriend and I have been together. We met in October 2022, our freshman year, and have been dating since. Although we haven’t been together for all that long, he’s taught me so much in every aspect of life and continues to do so today.
Firstly, he has taught me how to be patient. Not in the sense of waiting for your meal after ordering at a restaurant or meticulously going through every section at the thrift store, but in terms of relationship patience. He taught me how to understand that we are both learning every day and sometimes we both mess up. He taught me that it’s better to be patient when one person upsets the other. He taught me to not immediately get upset at him and instead be patient with him when he’s trying to explain why he did or said a certain thing that just so happened to upset me.
Secondly, he taught me that it’s okay to be vulnerable. I tend to close my feelings up when something upsets me, making it harder for both of us to understand what went wrong and apologize for doing so. But, my boyfriend helped me realize that being vulnerable when things don’t go the way I want it to go is perfectly okay. He helped me understand that opening up when something is wrong helps us get through the conflict more efficiently and become closer than we were before.
Finally, he taught me to use setbacks as motivation. When it comes to school and grades, I tend to take it seriously, and sometimes, too seriously. Because of this, I get upset really easily when things don’t go the way I want it to go, academic-wise. This can range from things like a bad test score or a particularly challenging project. But my boyfriend has always been my biggest supporter of my career and life goals ever since I met him. When I get upset over school things, he always reminds me that whatever I’m disappointed about is such a minuscule aspect in the entirety of my life and future career path. He taught me to not get too hung up on these minor setbacks, and instead use it as fuel to do even better in the future.
Even though it’s only been just over a year of us dating, I’m thankful for all that he’s taught me so far and I’m so excited to learn more with him by my side.