Being aromantic has really taught me just how important non-romantic relationships are in my life, specifically platonic and queerplatonic ones. In a world that tells us from a young age that finding romance is the pinnacle of happiness, my aromanticism has, in a way, emerged as a second voice in my head to challenge that. Over the one year that I've identified as aromantic, it has shown me millions of different ways to love, to care, and more importantly to live and to be. It has reminded me time and time again that I am not a half to be completed, but a whole in my entirety. It has made me feel excluded and loved and ignored and appreciated all at once, and for all of it, even for the bad parts, I'm more than grateful.
I don't recall when or where it was that I first heard of the term aromantic, but I feel that I owe so much to that tiny moment of my life.
Happy Pride Month everyone.
