I’m suddenly reminded of a quote from a book I read long ago. The book is titled Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (you may remember the movie of the same name starring Kevin Spacey). “Truth, like art, is in the eye of the beholder. You believe what you want, and I’ll believe what I know.”
Perception is a funny thing; it causes people to construct their own personal truth. You see, the entire world perceived that I was one half of a perfect Generation Y relationship. Too many friends saw hopes in their own romantic future just by being around us. We were young, in love, had our own home, and over the course of three years, had built a solid life with a bright future. It was a comforting thought; giving my own cynical girlfriends a hope that decent men were out there, waiting to be discovered.
But when it all ended, not only did my world come crashing to a halt, but theirs as well. Those closest to me were confused, how, when everything was so perfect, did it come to an end? Suddenly I was cast into a negative light as a silly woman who was clearly out of her mind for leaving such a perfect man. My friends didn’t understand my reasons at all: he didn’t cheat, he never laid a hand on me, was never harsh ... we never even fought. They believed that I was making a mistake, because they clearly thought that the only reason a relationship should end was due to one of the horrible reasons mentioned earlier.
We certainly had a beautiful start to our relationship. We believed we were infallible—nothing would ever tear us apart and one day we would lead a fabulous life in a big city with a child and a dog, and everything would be perfect forever and ever and always. I believe with every ounce of my soul that it is this attitude that caused the deterioration of our relationship. You see, a relationship needs work because no one is perfect. You will make mistakes and you will hurt your partner, but if you are willing to invest in the relationship, you must be willing to accept the fact that you are human and you make mistakes, and your partner can help you grow to be a better person.




