It makes me so sad that I see people every day on this site complain about being aromantic. I see them wishing they weren’t aromantic. I see them mourning the loss of a love they never knew they should feel until someone made them feel incomplete by not feeling it.
You are allowed to love who you are, even if other people think you’re going to be sad and lonely your whole life. You can’t miss what you’ve never wanted. You are allowed to be angry that when you define yourself, other people don’t understand - and worse, they try to diminish your identity. You’re allowed to be hurt and frustrated and a million other things.
But please, please, don’t blame yourself. Don’t blame aromanticism. Blame the world that makes it so difficult for you to be who you are. Aromanticism is a big part of me. It’s a part of me I love, and I’m at peace with.
I’ll never not be angry seeing that red line under aromantic. I’ll never not be angry when autocorrect decides my identity doesn’t exist. But I wouldn’t give up my aromanticism for anything, because when I finally stopped trying to view the world through rose-tinted glasses—when I got a prescription that actually worked for me—I was able to draw more astute, mature conclusions about love, and about the kind of love I want in my life.
