The Greatest (S)Hits

Relationships can be such complicated matters sometimes.

Everytime, really.

Movies and TV and love songs lie to the masses. No boy meets a girl only to secretly fall maddeningly in love with her, finding that she too has the same feelings towards him as they celebrate with a gentle kissing session against the sunset, on the hood of a Corvette.

I believe we are defined by our relationships. As Celine said in (the divinely excellent) Before Sunrise, "If there is any kind of magic in this world, it is in the act of understanding another person" because that's the gist of a relationship, I guess.

I've been lucky enough to find myself the girl, woman, that I can say I'm utterly and completely proud to call my own. At the same time, I've been able to surround myself with friends and minions who make me laugh and can show me a good time or two.

Not everyone is as blessed, of course. There are those who, try as they might, continue to feel lost (not you, Sul) or disappointed or confused or simply wrong. For these people, a few words of advice.

1. Never put up with anyone who physically abuses you. Even once. That's once too many. Even a good excuse leads to bad ones.

2. Remember to say the things you mean, and mean the things that you say. Don't hold back; regret is worse than rejection.

3. Be yourself. Even if it means commenting on the choice of meat at a cafeteria.

4.Sometimes it pays to be selfish. There's no point getting into or staying in something that will make you miserable, only to keep someone else marginally satisfied.

5. The only people worth changing for are the ones who love you just the way you are.