Relationships are weird.
Everyone has a different opinion about what makes a relationship successful. It’s about sharing your faith. Openly communicating. Having the same interests.
My boyfriend and I are almost exact opposites. People who don’t know us question how we get along. People who do know us still aren’t certain if we like each other. I only want cartoons and musicals and can’t handle anything scary. The boyfriend doesn’t have a single fear. I rationalize based on emotions or experiences, while he uses logic. All I want to do with my life is read, while he’s a numbers man who won’t read unless forced to.
At first glance, it might seem like we have nothing in common, and the raises the question of how can we get along? The answer is video games. Just bear with me. Video games are the key to a good relationship.
See? I'm telling the truth.
The boyfriend and I both love video games. Most of our days are spent playing our games together, sitting across from each other while we play the latest band that we’re obsessed with in the background. I’ll occasionally let out a giggle, he’ll let out a laugh, and we tell each other what just happened in our games.
Despite us both loving video games, we can’t agree on a game that we both enjoy. I don’t like fighting games. I prefer games that tell a story. Give me all the backstories and plot lines I can get. My boyfriend, on the other hand, hates them, preferring action games that require strategy and have a clear victor.
This doesn’t mean that it’s not an interest that we share as a couple. We can sit down, him playing "League of Legends" and me playing "Sims 4," and we both bond over our shared interest. I tell him about the new idea I had for my sims while he tells me about the new champion he’s mastering, and we’re able to bond.
Relationships aren’t about having everything in common. That’s impossible, and would be weird, honestly. Having differences within a relationship is healthy, because you don’t need the same interests to have a good relationship. Relationships are about sharing experiences with each other and appreciating them wholeheartedly, not about matching.
My boyfriend and I are lucky. We might not enjoy the exact same stuff, but we have similar enough interests that it’s easy to enjoy each other’s company no matter what we’re doing, but it’s the differences that make it fun. We each can add a unique perspective, making the experience even more rewarding. Each of us is able to recognize that our hobbies are important to us, so we make sure to pay attention and fully participate.
OK, so maybe it’s not about video games. But it is about wanting to share experiences with each other -- which is almost just as good.
