for alexander

another thing I have yet to share here is my relationship, so why not introduce it with a little something special?

my boyfriend, alexander (or alex as his friends and colleagues call him), and I started dating when I was 17 and he was 18.

we were seniors in high school and I don't think either of us had ever had any intention of being in a relationship with anyone at any point of our final year of grade school.

he was (who am I kidding, is) super smart and driven. he was quiet and soft spoken, not over-confident, but very friendly. oh, and not to mention, a complete goofball in private. his smile and laugh were infectious. he wore red or blue vans on any given day, complete with cuffed pants because he liked them that way (still does). he had great taste in music and I thought that was cool. he hung out with people that had great personalities and genuinely liked each other and didn't really seem to care about what others thought about them and I admired that even more. he once-upon-a time dabbled in art and played on the varsity soccer team. he could write a killer AP english essay that would blow mine (and most everyone else's) out of the water. he had a very promising college career ahead of him.

I, on the other hand, was the new girl from a totally different state. I didn't have very many friends and I was fairly self-conscious. I had a past that I was still in the process of letting go and forgiving myself for. I was awkward. I liked going vegan sometimes but I also really liked ice cream (still do). I wore a lot of cardigans, my hair was shorter, and I didn't really do my makeup that well. I skipped sports that year. I also couldn't write a very good AP english timed writing essay.

nevertheless, somehow, someway, he ended up loving me and I still can't wrap my brain around how or why.

in three days, we will be celebrating our two year dating anniversary. as cliche as it probably sounds, I don't know where the time has gone. it seems like just last month he asked me to be his girlfriend in a booth at tropical smoothie while I looked down and smiled at the wrap we shared on our table.

since then, so much has changed and yet so much is the same. I'm honestly proud of us.

maybe that sounds stupid or conceited or something, but I truly am proud and so beyond grateful.
we've made it through graduation and going to school (he did, in fact, end up fulfilling that very promising college career thing) almost two hours apart (I know, not awful, but still) for almost a year a half now while he hasn't been able to have a vehicle and I have only been able to visit every other weekend. and though it certainly has not been a cake walk, it has been a great growing process for the both of us I think.
we've gotten a little older and changed some and developed new habits and maybe aren't as infatuated with each other as we were a year or so ago and don't have to text 24/7 but the strength and genuine love of our relationship, I think, is continually growing.

here's to what, God-willing, will be another two, three, four, twenty more years.

//

to my best friend (or elephant),

thank you for sticking with me through the happiest of times, the saddest of times, and every little thing in between. thank you for making me laugh til I cry and thank you for wiping rivers of tears from my face when I feel low. thank you for your steadfast commitment and faith. thank you for becoming more and more the man of God I really needed all along. thank you for your patience. thank you for accepting my imperfections and thank you for not being afraid to say you're sorry (something I know I suck at sometimes). thank you for listening to me rant and letting me climb onto my giant soapbox from time to time. thank you for loving animals (oh and people) and watching documentaries with me. thank you for fro yo and sushi dates. thank you for being more weird than me sometimes hehe. thank you for telling me I'm beautiful and gorgeous, and all those things that make me blush. thank you for never giving up on me even though there have been moments where that could have been easier. thank you for all the times I haven't said thank you but I probably should have.

thank you for being the best friend I could ever ask for.