Love Free

        For my readers and dearest friends that keep up with this blog, you very well know my beliefs on the subject of love.  I don't believe in love... more than so I don't believe in what society has made of love.  I've got a different take on the whole relationship spiel.  I've got a different take on how I handle relationships and why I'm not the type of person to be in one.

        You ask, what do you believe in if you don't believe in love?  I believe two people can be happy together.  Sometimes in life people think they need a companion to bring them joy.  For me, I bring myself joy... yet I wonder what it would feel like to let someone else bring me happiness again.  I wonder what it feels like to care about someone so deeply that I get that funny feeling in my gut and that rush of heat throughout my body with the softest kiss.  The way it feels to have someone's fingertips run through my hair sending chills down my spine.  The way it gets so hot under the covers from holding each other so tight....  Yeah, I wonder if I'll ever feel those things again... the things that make a relationship almost worth every struggle.
        But for me, I don't like to talk about my emotions or the painful reasons of why I am the person I am today. To me, you have to know those things and understand them to know me as a person.  Without me willing to explain them, a companionship will never exist. I don't try to get new friends, for they will never really get to know me.  I have two girl friends and one guy friend that have grown up with me and been by my side through each of my painful experiences.  I'll never have to explain to them why I don't trust anyone or why I fear divorce... they know how my head already works.  They know what I feel and what I need at any given moment. With a relationship, two partners must be there for each other and support each others' needs. 
        My needs in a relationship?  I need a guy to completely understand me.  I need a guy to prove to me that forever does exist.  I need a guy to prove to me in ten years the feelings we have for each other will never change.  Each of those requests can never be made.  For no one new will understand me, for forever is an indefinite amount of time, for no one can show me what the future holds.  Do I hold too high of requests for a relationship?  Yes, I know I do. 
        Just like anyone, I do think about getting married.  I've thought about myself in a beautiful wedding gown, walking down the isle to some man I chose to fall in love with.  I've thought about having the chance to have kids again with a man that I know will always be there for them.  I miss feeling beautiful by just the touch of a caring guy.  Time to time, as I watch a movie I wish I was laying against a guy that I know wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here with me.  I do miss feeling close to someone, but I've trained myself to not allow those desires and wants fade what really matters in life.

        I purposely avoid all chances of getting close with someone.  I never want to be so close to someone in way that they hold the opportunity to hurt me.  Keeping my distance allows me to remain invincible.  I never want to put my emotions on the line for the risk of getting happiness from another.  The most important thing in life is yourself.  When you put yourself in a relationship, you risk all sense of stability.  Too many marriages are made, making two people live unhappy for years until a divorce is made.  I will never set myself up for failure.  I don't want to get into a relationship not knowing if we will last a lifetime.  If it doesn't last a lifetime, what's the point of getting to know each other and fighting to stay happy when you're just going to leave each other?  I'd rather spend my time making myself happy while watching all these reckless relationships fail, knowing I'll never be that heartbroken girl. 

                        Yours truly,
                        Amanda Rae

Dear Future Amanda,

        We never know where we are going to be years down the road.  Some of us have plans to travel the world and some don't have plans at all.  I plan to join the Navy.  But in five years, being stationed to another base... I never know where I'll end up, who I'll meet, or if I'll even still be here.  I think it's always good to bring some of your past to your future. For those who say, "the past is the past",  you are wrong!  The past is every part of who you are today.  I want to write my future self a letter, just to remind myself of some of the things I've been through that I believe I should never forget.


Dear Amanda,
        I'm writing this letter at eighteen years old.  Right now you're sitting in your room listening to your soul music as you call it.  The mix of The Fray, Dashboard Confessional, and a bunch of other alternative bands.  You're reasoning for writing this letter is so you never forget the things you wanted to always remember.  If you think back to your teenage years, you'll remember it was never easy.  During those times, you learned a lot of things about life... a lot of life lessons you always wanted to portray as you grew up. 
        Who knows if you're in a serious relationship with someone right now.  I don't think you will be, for you never really believed in getting serious with anyone.  After mom and dad got divorced, you made it clear that you don't believe in love. If you do have a significant other, always remember those things you went through... those boys that proved your non-belief in love right.  Make sure he is worth your time... I don't want to be riding off all these good guys I'm encountering if I'm just going to fall for some scum bag later on in life.  Remember that trust and honesty is everything in a relationship.  You don't deal with liars! 
        I hope by the time you read this letter...things with the family are better. As of right now, I don't speak to half of them.  If it isn't better, always remember that you can't choose family.  As you grow up and realize family won't always be around, you'll be upset.  But it's important to remember all the things they did and said to you.  Hopefully they realized that you aren't everything they said you were and acknowledge that you were trying to better your life by becoming a better person.
        Speaking of becoming a better person... I hope you are still sticking to the decision I made.  The decision to keep alcohol out of your life.  If you are drinking, I know it's because you are over the age of 21 and it's legal for you to drink.  Remember,  a sober moment is always cherished more than a drunken moment.  To know that every decision you make will be made by a sober mind and not a mind that is under the influence is something you should be proud about.  I know you'll never pick up the drugs again, but I don't ever want to let the alcohol consume my life again.  So if you are drinking, remember the prison you toured?  Remember the stories of those girls... the mother who killed her own children?  Remember how it felt to be locked up in shackles and handcuffs with the things those guys were saying?  You don't ever want that life again. 
        I just hope you are doing all the things you wanted to persue when you were younger.  Your dream for life was to be in the Navy for twenty years, following two people in your life that always influenced what you did... your father and your brother.  You had dreams to always strive for a higher excellence and retire becoming an art teacher... the dream you've had since you were twelve.  Right now, you are all about proving yourself to others.  I hope by the time you read this letter, you realize that you don't need to prove anything to anyone but yourself. Also, hopefully as you read this letter... you've learned to take your own advice.

                Yours truly,
               Amanda Rae

ps. Another thing I hope for, is for you to finally be okay with your real last name and not substitute it with your middle...

Friends or clients?

         In life, I've come across a wide variety of groups of friends. I've lost a lot friends and found many along the way.  One thing that has always stayed true, was the kind of friend I am.  In my opinion, the type of friend you are can make a huge impact on the people you surround yourself with.  In order to have friends, you've got to be a true friend yourself.  Leaving all cockiness aside, I know I'm what you would call a true friend.

         Quality is more important than quanity when it comes to friends.  I'm pretty sure I only have four friends.  I have many aquaintances but an aquaintance is not a friend.  People whom come in your life time to time are not considered friends. Friends are people that are constantly making an influence in your life and are always there for you for anything.  I am the type of person who will be there for you as I think I should.  If you come to me with a problem, I'm going to try and help you through it the best I can.  I'm not going to help you find an easy way out, but I'll help you try to solve or get through the tough times in the way I believe is right.

         For me, I consider the little things bigger than the big things.  A birthday is obviously a big deal, but being the first person to call someone on their birthday is a bigger deal to me.  I always try my hardest to do all the little things for my friends... being the one that they will always come to for anything.  But over time, I've begun wondering if I'm trying too hard to be a good friend. When you use all of your ability to be the best friend that you can be, you expect a certain quality out of yourself... you have a set image of what a true friend really is.  Once you begin to obtain this image, you start to look at your friends and wonder why they don't do the same things as you do.

          I don't believe my friends are any less of a true friend than I am, but recently I began to question it.  You see, not too long ago I made a very difficult decision for my life.  Some of you may have read about it in a previous post, but with my friends knowing what was going on... I expected some friendly help.  I got sorrow from my friends but after that was over, I didn't receive much of anything else.  In all honestly, everyday I talk to at least one of those four friends about a problem they are having.  Sometimes I wondered if these were my actual friends I'm talking to or were they just clients that used me for a pick-me-up. I  literally put all of myself into making sure I do my best at helping out their situation and once days have passed by, I check up on them.  I'm constantly asking my friends how they are doing with whatever is going on in their life. In return, I have not received one question about my recent life change.  But I heard some knowledge from a very close person that helped me out with my friends or clients problem...

         I'm a different kind of person.  You see, its not that I was in pain or upset from what occured in my life... I just wanted my friends to check up on me.  I wanted them to prove to me that they are here for me and care about what I'm going through.  I had to realize though, I'm not what one would call a normal person.  I don't like to share emotions and I'm pretty invincible when it comes to getting "hurt".  So why would my friends come and check up on me when they know I'm fine?  I now realize that my friends do care about what I go through, they just know me well enough to know that I don't need to be checked up on.  To me, that means they are more than true friends.

         When you come across something in life similar to this, you need to take a few steps back and look at the big picture.  You need to acknowledge the type of people you are dealing with and understand that a true friend is not the same for everyone.  Your true friends probably ask you how you are doing constantly... my true friends know the answer to that question before asking!
                                     yours truly,
                                   Amanda Rae

Saying goodbye...

Alright, so I'm going to admit that my emotions have caught up with me. This is a very rare thing and usually means something serious has struck.  A couple posts ago, I wrote about a guy that I love...the one and only guy I'll love. Well that one and only guy I love is not the one and only guy I need.  With my birthday being yesterday, I wasn't really expecting to get a present from the hope and dreams crusher!

My love, Ryan, and I had a rocky relationship. It was full of lies, deceit, and hurtful words.  Of course there were the good times, times that I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world...but the more time went on, the less I felt that way.  Throughout all the bad, I still didn't want anything other than him.  Every time him and reached out to each other after several months of not speaking, the bond we had and the love we shared seemed to be more than perfect. But yesterday, reality struck me...

When two people break up after a true relationship, an emptiness is left within the two people.  Eventually the two will talk again and second guess whether they should be together or not.  If the two choose to try it again, well that's when you have entered the "in between" phase.  The phase where there are no fights, no worries, just pure happiness. This is due to the fact that a couple trying to build a relationship isn't going to fight and bring up issues from the past, ruining what they've started.  Once you move past this phase and get back into the relationship, getting comfortable... this is when the fights, lies arise, and problems from the past bring back an unhappy relationship...the reason you two broke up in the first place.

In my situation, I will always love Ryan. Even if he has put me through a long heart-wrenching two years, he will always be a major part of my life.  But as of last night, I made it clear that we will never be together.  Something that put me in tears to say, something that I couldn't stand telling the guy I love, but something that was much overdo.  Two people who become each other's poison should not try to be together again.  Now I will go back to the life style I am most comfortable with... not letting a single person in and keeping all senses of relationships and affections far away, for I am most happy when I am alone

                           Yours truly,
                         Amanda Rae

PS. Ryan, if you ever do come across this... Just know that I was in love with who I thought you were, but I clearly don't even know the real you.