this is the story of a girl.

There Is More Than One Kind Of Love

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:13:21 -0400

There exists a vague, dark, constant fear at the horizon of life. On all sides of us, drilled into us by media and stories and the sweet-but-perhaps-misguided advice of extended family members, we are told that we are supposed to “partner up” and that, if we don’t, life will be nice, but meaningless. We are convinced that there is a kind of “soulmate,” someone with whom we share a love that renders all others secondary, one with whom we build a nest and fulfill our purpose — that life is entirely constructed around this unique love. But the truth is that life is filled with almost endless kinds of love, love that gives meaning and color to life and makes us better human beings. And each of them — not just love that gets caricatured in romantic comedies — deserves to be praised.

When your parents tend to you while you’re sick, giving you soup and putting on your favorite movie and placing a pillow gently behind your head to prop you up; when they answer your calls with a warm voice even after you’ve made the too-frequent mistake of treating them like you don’t care about them; when they give you a place to sleep or a little money to get you back on your feet because, even though they want to teach you independence in life, they still want to see you doing alright — that is love.

When your friend collects the pieces of you strewn all across the room after someone who claimed to “love” you left you for someone else; when they lose days with you, laughing and singing and eating junk food and doing everything that was good about childhood that we have somehow forgotten to do in early adulthood; when they keep secrets across decades where others wouldn’t have been able to hold it in for a single afternoon — that is love.

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"Part of not being a self-centered asshole, is doing things with your friends even when you don’t..."

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:21:02 -0400

“Part of not being a self-centered asshole, is doing things with your friends even when you don’t want to.”

- An Abundance of Katherines | John Green (via austentatious)

twloha: “Head Over Feet”, Alanis Morissette I hear the...

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:19:45 -0400

twloha:

“Head Over Feet”, Alanis Morissette

I hear the familiar music, with its sticky-sweet lyrics, and I’m suddenly in one of those nostalgic daydreams that only music can connect you back to.

It’s 1996, and I’m in my friend Stephanie’s bedroom. We’re sharing the newest additions to our personal cassette tape collections with each other. I’m offering her Shawn Colvin (because what 11-year-old didn’t love that hot single “Sunny Came Home?”), while she gives me Alanis Morissette’s album. And so began my adolescent infatuation with this song, “Head Over Feet.”

Now, 15 years later and with a bit more life experience, I think Alanis was onto something when she wrote this—not only about romance, but about relationships in general.

“You treat me like I’m a princess. I’m not used to liking that. You ask how my day was.”

I’m a girl who genuinely doesn’t like all the grand gestures. Sometimes they’re nice—sort of. Like when they’re not in a public place or around any other humans. Flowers are maybe the only exception to that. I just want someone who treats me like I’m valuable and knows me well enough to know how to make me feel that way.

In the context of dating, I absolutely want him to ask how my day was—and to listen. I want him to do these things because he cares enough about me to care about my life, even the boring bits no one else will hear about. But the same can be said for friends, family, coworkers, and any other relationship: grand gestures aside, there are few things more valuable than someone who listens.

“Thanks for your patience. You’re the best listener that I’ve ever met. You’re my best friend.”

One of my favorite things has always been seeing an old man open a door for his wife. Yeah, I’m capable of opening a door for myself and probably always will be, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want someone to do it for me sometimes. Whatever that cute old couple has been doing for 50-plus years is clearly working—and one of those small, patient things is opening the door for each other. They have the bond of being best friends, regardless of how the aging process plays out.

I probably don’t even need to delve into how important patience is in any relationship. I can be pretty stubborn and am well aware I most likely require a decent amount of patience. But in receiving grace, I will also give it.

“I’ve never felt this healthy before. I’ve never wanted something rational. I am aware now. I am aware now.”

I don’t know why, but it seems we often want to return to our more irrational behavior in relationships, and I’m not just talking about when it comes to dating. But there’s something really amazing and comforting about a healthy relationship. You don’t need to continue in something that makes you unhappy or unhealthy.

It’s true that some relationships, like family, are with you for life, regardless of how you feel about them. But the little things—patience, a listening ear, a door held open at the last minute—can go a long way.

—Katie

followandreblog: accioagape: Please help spread this around...

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 11:50:24 -0400

followandreblog:

accioagape:

Please help spread this around <3

Heroes can be real too, not just the bad guys.

"Love, being in love, isn’t a constant thing. It doesn’t always flow at the same strength. It’s not..."

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:40:42 -0400

“Love, being in love, isn’t a constant thing. It doesn’t always flow at the same strength. It’s not always like a river in flood. It’s more like the sea. It has tides, it ebbs and flows. The thing is, when love is real, whether it’s ebbing or flowing, it’s always there, it never goes away. And that’s the only proof you can have that it is real, and not just a crush or an infatuation or a passing fancy.”

- Aidan Chambers, This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn (via helplesslyamazed)

Photo

Sun, 06 May 2012 09:40:00 -0400

"What defines a best friend? What are the requirements to be a good best friend? How many hours a..."

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:48:26 -0400

“What defines a best friend? What are the requirements to be a good best friend? How many hours a week does it entail? Stupid questions that have no answers. A best friend is not defined by how many times they talk on the phone, or how many hours they hang out together. It is not defined by how many sleepovers they gossip at, or how many inside jokes they have. There are no requirements or laws that state a good best friend must hang out with them every weekend, or tell each other every little detail. A best friend is a matter of opinion. It is the person who has been there for you through everything, not just through the fun things, or the little things. It is the person that you call when you are at your absolute worst, it is the person who saves you when you didn’t even notice that you needed saving, mostly it is the person who accepts you for who you are, and the person that you are becoming.”

Chicago can suck it.

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 02:40:04 -0400

Days later, I still feel your lips on my neck. Chicago is too far away, and I miss you too much.

I never understood what my mom meant when she always said “when you find the right one, you’ll know.”

I know.

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Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:30:24 -0400

thetasteofawesome: Shitting Bricks

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 02:07:52 -0400

thetasteofawesome:

Shitting Bricks

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Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:06:18 -0400

"There are some things that I’ll never understand. I’ll never understand the goosebumps I get when..."

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:57:44 -0400

“There are some things that I’ll never understand. I’ll never understand the goosebumps I get when first stepping into hot water. I’ll never understand the dreams I have with strangers in them, people I’ve never met or seen. I’ll never understand how a person can keep going back to the ones who hurt them. But what I do understand is that once we do understand everything, the world loses its shine. Curiosity killed the cat, but the cat had nine lives.”

Photo

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 04:48:31 -0400

classics: classics2: kirin91: whenthemusicplays: tanjaaax: ...

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 19:46:58 -0400

classics:

classics2:

kirin91:

whenthemusicplays:

tanjaaax:

500daysofshutthefuckup-:

swinglifeaway982:

legendofzelda:

bleep-bloop:

icaughtmyselfagain:

(via eeejjj, kaeminmi)

aww haha

(via kaeminmi-deactivated20100524)

This describes my current relationship perfectly. :)

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:18:02 -0400

This describes my current relationship perfectly. :)

hobbit-at-hogwarts:

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:12:43 -0400

hobbit-at-hogwarts:

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:12:37 -0400

hobbit-at-hogwarts:

just sat in the car next to my best friend,

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 04:44:16 -0400

wishing we were more than friends the entire time.

fuck me. not again.

"We are all guilty of saving old messages from someone who became really special in our lives and..."

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:26:50 -0400

“We are all guilty of saving old messages from someone who became really special in our lives and going to familiar places that gives us that small twinge in our hearts and smiles on our faces. It’s one of the most bittersweet feelings ever because every time that person crosses our minds, we remember the instances when we were happy and complete.”

- (via idareyoutoclickthis)

I just saw pictures of Dylan’s car, and he is lucky to be alive. I didn’t understand how...

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:10:28 -0400

I just saw pictures of Dylan’s car, and he is lucky to be alive. I didn’t understand how Brian was killed until that. And now I can’t stop crying, again. =[