Caring is not a weakness. As I’m increasingly starting to realise, it’s actually a strength. Only a strong person can put their love into another human being. It takes courage and bravery and faith and *strength* to do that. To surrender yourself up to the notion that you might very well get hurt. In fact, you probably will get hurt. Some will be minor hurts, like that inevitable time they forget to call you when they said they would or they forget an important thing you told them and how much it means to you. Some will be bigger hurts. Like if one day his phone flashes and up comes the name of a girl you don’t recognise and the message says ‘last night was amazing, can’t wait to feel you inside me again xxx”. Some will be the biggest hurts. Like, if you manage to make it through all the little hurts a combination of sheer stupidity or stubbornness or… love; (likely a combination of adoring and enduring) and then they die. Or they get sick and die. Or they get sick and stay sick and it’s years of hurt. So many potential hurts. So many probabilities for pain. All pain. But the alternative? Not caring? That doesn’t really work well, either. Because it’s worth it. That’s the thing. All the hurts. The small and the bigger and the biggest; they’re all worth dealing with when they come and if you choose correctly, the small and the bigger hurts don't happen all that often and the good stuff is really good. I’ve seen love turn weaklings of people. but that’s not love. that’s those people. that’s what i’m realising. it doesn’t have to equal dramatics and losing your independence and becoming half a person. if done correctly, it’s all gaining. if done correctly it’s all strength.