I’m not trying to offend anyone; I’m just going to be completely honest in my experience.

I am white, he is black, and that has not affected how much or why I love him. I was raised to look past skin color. It is just a pigmentation. Everyone has their own culture and their own beliefs. When I met him, my world was forever changed.

He was the guy that you noticed when he walked in a room. He was the guy that ran halfway across campus just to give me a snack and a hug. He was the guy that texted back and texted first. So, no my love for him isn’t because of his skin color, and no it’s not some secret fetish.

Even though it is 2018 and it should be long gone...RACISM STILL EXISTS!

Not just on his end, but mine as well. When I am waiting at a restaurant for him to get off work and I let them know I’m waiting for my boyfriend, they smile--until they see him, and then they get this confused frown as he sits across from me. The same goes for him. Once, a waiter asked if I was the side chick because I was white.

Yeah, I was sitting right there.

At college, it wasn’t that big of a deal. There were very diverse relationships on campus. But in a small town where he is one of the three black people in the population, it’s a little frowned upon.

As our relationship progressed and we moved on into the world after the college year was over, I began to notice the small things. Not every single person reacted weirdly, but there is always that one person, the person who walks to the other side of the street or glares very obviously.

My boyfriend and I are pretty open with each other, and one day I asked him how he felt when others acted the way they did. He said they were being foolish and too quick to judge him. He said in the town he grew up in, it just became natural to ignore them and go on with life.

There was no point being angry. They were going to think what they wanted.

I agreed with him. Many of us are too quick to judge and stereotype.

That has never once stopped me from dating him or changed how I see him.

The worst thing that has happened so far is the time we were walking around the block, and a cop came out of nowhere and just idled behind us all the way back to the house as if my own boyfriend was going to throw me over his shoulder and run off.

We both have heard from people that our relationship is built off of a phase or a fetish because of our skin tones. I know for a fact that what we have isn’t a “phase” or a “fetish." I love him, and that’s real.

To whoever says that this is “wrong” or “disturbing," all I have to say is get with the times, and mind your own business.