Upon entering my freshman year at Coker college, I was in a relationship that I thought would last a lifetime. Now in complete honesty, a part of me knew things would not last and at times I did half-ass my job at being a girlfriend, but in my defense he had some serious issues that he needed to overcome and me being the person I am, I tried to keep things together when clearly they were falling apart. Letting things drag out when I clearly wasn't appreciated was my fault, but losing me was all on him.

I have to admit, after we ended the relationship, I told everyone and myself I would never date again. I couldn't stand the idea of meeting someone, growing close with them, telling someone I loved them all over again, and finally getting hurt in the end. I was physically and emotionally drained. School was becoming too much and ultimately I was unhappy.I woke up one morning though, and realized I was going about things the wrong way.

I finally opened my eyes and mind to someone that I pushed away since the very beginning. When school started, I became friends with new people due to the fact that we were in the same "family" that the Coker campus added us to. We all got to know each other and were in a group chat that required that we all have each others numbers. One person in particular decided to message me outside the group chat and that's when confusion and friend-zoning set in.

Now I respected my relationship with the other person enough to let the other guy know that we could be friends. Through the many few weeks of college this person would text me out the blue and talk with me. It even came to a point where we would snap chat each other, but I would never let it get out of hand.

Weeks after the brake up between my ex and I, Hurricane Matthew was about to hit and I really had not spoken to anyone not even the other person in awhile. The Sunday after the Hurricane hit, the power was out all over Hartsville. That night I went to this persons room with another friend of mine and I watched as they played cards. As the night grew longer there was chemistry between me and this person that I could not deny, but I was scared.

I was scared because with this person being a wrestler, I know how some athletes are. You can sit beside them and all of the sudden the school may think you slept with them, that's why I kept my distance. I didn't want him to go back and tell people that we did something that we didn't do, but through the night, I started to see that maybe I was wrong. As it grew later in the evening, The person, my friend, and I decided to watch a movie on his laptop. She sat on the floor as we sat on the bed. The movie came to an end, she was asleep and it was just us two left to our own devices.

That night we talked till the sun came up. It was one of the best nights I had ever had. He never pushed himself on me or pushed for anything to happen. He was calm, funny, and relaxing. After that night we spent the night with each other for two and a half weeks until we finally decided to make it official. I can't tell you how happy he makes me and how blessed I am to have someone like him in my life. He's open me up and has helped me realize that sometimes it's not the best to judge a book by it's cover or past.

Yes, he's a wrestler, yes he's sometimes busy, but he always makes time to make sure I'm happy and makes time to let me know he cares. I truly did hit the jackpot when I put my judgement to the side and saw what truly does lie in him other than his athlete demeanor. If he's reading this right now, I want him to know that I am absolutely crazy for him and my love for him grows everyday.

To anyone reading this, I hope this helps you realize that quick to judgment sometimes isn't the best way to lead your life. Sometimes it helps to open up and look deeper inside a person instead of looking at what lies on the outside. Yeah, we may get hurt and honestly things may not last, but that feeling of love and happiness never dies. It's the key to finding out who we are as people and lovers.

Cheers.