It’s 10:46 pm and I’m laying down in the dark. I can hear my air conditioner blowing and nothing else.
Man I’ve been going through it. My mind is a fucking mess. Why does my life center my romantic relationship so much? It’s honestly annoying. And draining as fuck. I find no peace. I look on one side and it’s stress, I look at the other and it’s more stress because of my job.
Anyway this post is mostly dedicated to my romantic relationship. I write in my notes app almost everyday. Explaining how I am so sad, angry, confused, regretful, happy, relieved. All kinds of emotions. I’ve come a long way after months of this off and on bull shit.
I started this relationship off being an immature hoe. I was horny and bored and my sole purpose to hit him up was because he was young, fun, and I wanted to have sex. Never in a million years would I have expected for that to become a relationship. For about a year 1/2 I was in control. I had him and Art at the touch of my fingers. One of the things I feared the most was losing this control. I actually had thoughts about that coming to end. I kept pressuring myself that I was going to have to end my relationship with him or art. Realistically I knew I was better off with art, but after the cheating and the bond I formed with Diego. I couldn’t. Without realizing it, he became a safe place for me. Someone I could confide in. He loved me despite my flaws and didn’t seem to care how our relationship started. Little did I know by ending my relationship it would drastically shift his and I’s forever.
I lost control during this moment. Not only of my relationship with Arturo but relationship with him. Being rejected and dismissed was not something I’m used to much less accepting of. It was hurtful, during this time I was working with him as well which made it worse. I remember dreading work, dreading seeing him. I felt like I was being played, as I would still occasionally see him. We would have sex sometimes and I would feel used. He wouldn’t stay and hold me, our intimacy seemed to be at all all time low. Catching him in lies, hearing about what he was doing without me literally made my chest hurt. My stomach would drop. My mind would run rampant. Who was he fucking, texting, seeing.
This happened over a course of 3 months. I learned a lot but more importantly I felt vulnerable. Naked. Scared. And very insecure. For the first time within our dynamic, I felt like I no longer had a power. It seemed like I was walking on egg shells. Trying to prove to him that I’m worthy enough to be liked or to keep his interest. Our relationship deteriorated ever since. I became a toxic person, this relationship was no longer stupid or fun. It had expectations, boundaries and rules.
Considering how our dynamic began this was not going to work. I didn’t know it at the time but I was putting manly expectations on a boy.
I was used to someone who made me feel secure. Even men who made me feel like they had things taken care of. I found myself anxious over someone’s drinking, spending, and paying for them. I thought to myself, he has a record, how will he ever get a stable job? Yes he makes money but professionally? How far could that even go? When I would being this up it was met with hostility. Understandably. I looked at his friends and what he does in his free time… I was never invited on dates. His excuse was our situation and the financial aspect. Would that ever change?
I didn’t get it. I looked past the material things, I fucked him on his shitty bed at his mom’s house. Maybe that’s more embarrassing for me than for him. But if I would’ve known all this would happen I don’t know if I would’ve done it.
Now our relationship was filled with anxiety, trust issues and the lowest self esteem I have had in a while. I didn’t understand why I was so self conscious. I felt ugly, overweight and constantly pressured to perform. I would say things like put him down, why? Looking back did I do this to lower his self esteem? I always hated when I would bring up everything I dealt with or settled for. That’s not on him. That’s on me. That’s my problem and I shouldn’t have brought it up like he owed me something. I think I was filled with anger. Angry that I gave so much of my energy only to be left feeling unappreciated.
But that’s not his problem to fix. And I was wrong for treating it that way. I do think he could be good enough for me. But constantly putting him down? Crazy…
I want to talk about how fucked up I was. Because it’s not mentioned enough. I heavily relied on control in the beginning. I would start arguments for fun, manipulate, lie, I even slept with someone else. After art and I, I lost that control. I became more desperate, hungry for attention, and validation. All the relationship expectations landed on him. I’m sure this was very stressful for him. And looking back I could definitely see why he pulled back so suddenly and felt like a backup option. I lacked empathy and the emotional maturity to digest that. My ego was in the way. I was so focused on how could someone leave me? After everything I was willing to settle for. Wow. Looking back it was very selfish of me. These past few months were not the best either.
I knew I needed to work on my self esteem. I kept thinking, next week I’ll start losing weight. Next I’ll do this, I felt so ugly in pictures. When we were out I would imagine that he wished I looked different or that he didn’t feel proud that he was with me. I wanted to feel that obsession and pride. I started having feelings like I was being used as a place holder. Yes, I was chalking him to do better but he wasn’t. I felt as though behind my back he was doing things as little as messaging, reacting, or flirting. Why? I thought, am I not enough? Am I not someone worth growing with? Look at how far we’ve came! Look at everything I have done for you. Is it not enough? And that anger begins to swell again.
How did I leave a relationship where I was valued. Art saw my struggles, he saw me through high and low. He saw me gain my accomplishments and I think he honors me in that sense. He has seen my personality, raw. When Arturo looks at me I see praise, he thinks I’m cool. When Diego looks at me I feel like he’s annoyed, this is a task, if I can just get through this, going with the motions. Where did the excitement go? What happened?
They say your partner is a reflection of you and I definitely see that when we first met, as time went out I began to grow and outgrow him. I am starting to think Diego liked me for selfish reasons. My cousin asked, why do you feel so connected to him? I never knew how to explain it but I felt like mentally and communication wise we were perfect. He could keep up with the pace of my thoughts, we finished each other sentences, we laughed and reacted to the same things. He was extroverted and confident. I felt like I did not have to carry a social weight. I loved that about him. This connection is very rare, I felt it with Armando when I was very young, Jose and Diego. Arturo grew on me and we learned how to communicate but with time this is why I gave up. Arturo didn’t understand me anymore. I had to over explain or even give up on topics that were important to me.
As our relationship developed. Getting to now one another was fun. But the last few months it felt stagnant. He was distracted, un-engaged, no longer curious about me. I started a new job, new stresses, family problems and I felt like I could have a horrible day and Diego wouldn’t even notice. He would be distracted or even unavailable for days. Days would pass and no true conversation or connection was held. And I craved that so deeply.
I start to wonder, is he selfish? If I am a place holder, another task he has to complete, I’m there for him and him only. I don’t think he loved me for me, I think he just loved being liked by someone. I sometimes think Diego and I would be great as friends but romantically I can’t. He enjoyed the pros but avoided the cons. I started arguments to trigger jealously. My desperate attempt to feel like I was cared for. Or start arguments for him to win or beg for my affection.
Why do I waste my time trying to dissect his mind? I don’t think I’ll know for a long time. I did realize a lot of things though. I finally typed out some things I’ve always wanted to say. Like feeling bad about putting him down, I feel like I intentionally but unintentionally did that to guilt trip him into feeling like he should reconsider. Like manipulating. I feel like I’ve twisted the narrative to my favor when I am also not perfect.
I have learned that I need to find my self esteem and worth before becoming friends or forming any relationship with him.
Accepting some of the truths over him is so hard. Like our relationship not being enough. Feeling like I am not enough. Like I am not the one for him but trying to force myself to become that person. I’m scared and I do not want to endure anymore pain. Yet I find myself falling into being nosey. Checking socials and scoping around, only to hurt myself and fill my mind with ideas.
I wish he truly knew how remorseful I am about the role I played in all of this.
I started fights over nothing, his bid for connection with me would be met with anger, criticism and ultimately rejection. He tried in his own way… and I think there were many experiences left unlived because of me. I was an unhappy girl and he could not fix me. I needed some time away to realize and appreciate him as well.
Now that the water has cleared, neither of us know what to do. On one hand we are drawn to each other but on the other we are being asked to take a leap of faith into growth.
Diego, I don’t know where you’re headed without me. But I miss you. Just like the poem I sent, I miss you in a way that honored our connection. If I could apologize to you I would. If I could be honest with you, I would. Knowing what I know now and given the chance to never meet I don’t think I would take it. You’ve made me smile and laugh so much that the love i experienced was something I hadn’t felt in so long. I will never forget this time we shared. And I am really thankful. Thinking of you in this time I am in with anyone else is so painful. And selfishly I hope that you haven’t yet. I hope that you are still in mourning and I run through your mind as often as you run through mine. I have a guilty desire of hoping this will pass but I have a dreadful feeling it won’t. I wish things can slowly fall back into place and we can find the love that was once shared and give it a fair chance to grow. I fear that that will be long from now and who will we be by then? Looking at our timeline it feels like forever but it’s only been since March 24th. And it’s May 14th. Next week will be two months. Not including the three times we’ve seen each other, once back to back. All the texts exchanged.
Today I thought, why are you posting on socials? I wonder what you posted, what you’re doing or who you’re with. Are you out of town? Are you posting food, money? I wonder. I wouldn’t dare check anything else. It would hurt too much. I started to think, what if he is missing me and able to reply because it’s true. He does miss me but at the same time being entertained by someone else. He can feel two things at once. That’s normal. It hurt so much thinking that could be the case. It reminded me of Jose. How two faced he was. But… these are just thoughts and there is no way of uncovering them unless it was through Diego. I can give them a space to be observed but nothing to hold onto.
This post had no direction but I wanted it to be a timeline of my relationship. For my own records. Crazy crazy crazy. Maybe I should spend more time focusing on myself then writing these long ass posts lol.
I will next time. Moving forward I imagine myself a healthier person, both physically and mentally. And quote I really enjoy is one that goes, “Chase butterflies and they will fly away from you. Build a garden and they will come to you”. The more you move unintentionally things will become hard, and forced. Things that are not meant for you will be there. Things you desire will stray, once you focus on your goals, your health, you, you become intentional. Everything will begin to fall into place. What is meant for you will simply become.