This is my boyfriend and I on my seventeenth birthday at Kelly Beach in Half Moon Bay, California, and this is our story.
We met a couple years ago in high school, and we knew each other on the surface - names, passing hellos in hallways, nods here and there. Through time we subconsciously discovered that we connected with each other, and I remember when I saw him I would always, always hug him (or would he always, always hug me?) and he would wrap his arms around my waist and hold me tightly, and give me hugs that were much more intimate than your average casual greeting. As time wore on, I went through boyfriend after boyfriend. I got hurt, got my heart broken, got depressed, and found a rebound - rinse, repeat. Both of us got older, more sophisticated, and as I entered my senior year of high school, we got steadily closer and closer. I found myself looking forward to the brief moments where I could just escape all the noise and drama in his arms. When I was with him, everything felt so right, but I hadn’t realized it. I was too busy looking for love in the wrong areas, giving my heart and soul to jerks who tore and ripped and burned everything precious I gave to them. It was a while before I realized I could have everything I ever wanted, and that it lay with him. I asked him to prom in spring earlier this year with around eighty cupcakes spelled out in his name and a GIANT poster that said “PROM?” and he said yes! (: and I figure that’s how the ball really got rolling! I had a boyfriend at the time, but we still hung out anyway. My heart was not into my relationship, but rather, the boy that cared about my feelings and made the effort to do sweet things that made me happy. Soon enough, my relationship ended and my current boyfriend and I got together - and it’s been the best decision of my life.
Alex - through thick and thin, I will love you and comfort you. I will honor you and keep you, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish as my dearly beloved. And death won’t even come close to doing us part, because my soul will be with yours until the end of time. I know we fight and bitch and argue and get so frustrated at each other. I know we cry and break down and get angry, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You make me feel like I’m worth something, and I want you around forever.
I love you.