Love Story

Listen y’all…I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan since the days of Drew causing those teardrops to fall on her guitar. Fearless has always been and will always be my favorite of her albums because of the nostalgia it brings me. Love Story…favorite song hands down. Such a simple, but beautiful song. Using Romeo and Juliet as the bases of a love song (hot take alert…Romeo and Juliet is NOT a love story and should NOT be a foundation for love…just saying) and then letting Taylor be Taylor. Wonderful. Beautiful. Well done T-Swizzle. I always had the same thought about the song for the last decade since I heard it, which was that it's a song about a boy and a girl falling in love. However, as many things have recently, my view of it changed by none other than…yes you guessed it…a simple TV show.

Now, simple probably isn’t the right word for the TV show. It is a TV show called The Bear. If you haven’t seen it, go to Hulu right now and watch it. Freaking beautiful. While I will be careful when talking about it, minor spoiler alert I guess. A character named Richie is struggling with just loving himself and life. He has been listening to Taylor Swift to get to know more about her because his daughter loves Taylor. That’s all the context I will give and all you really need. Fast forward in the season and there is a scene where he is listening to Love Story and just driving. This scene is different because Richie is happy. He hasn’t been happy in a long time, but through certain events he is starting to become happy. He is starting to enjoy life. He is living his Love Story. Thought, not a Love Story we would expect when reading that sentence. There isn’t a girlfriend or a boyfriend that he has met and all of a sudden become happy. There isn’t this magical job or opportunity that popped up and all of a sudden he enjoys life again. His Love Story is about the most important aspect of his life that needs his love…himself. His Love Story is falling in love with the world again. His Love Story is falling in love with life again. His Love Story is falling in love with himself…probably for the first time ever.

Before I keep going, I just want to make a quick disclaimer. I am in no way saying a new job, new opportunity, new romantic partner cannot make your life happier and all around better. All of those things are wonderful things that can improve your life if they happen to you. The point that I am trying to make is that those aren’t the only things that can make you happier or healthier. In fact, I would even argue all those things are useless if you cannot learn to love yourself. I cannot hope to become happier and healthier without my Love Story. If I don’t know how to love myself, I cannot love others. Some people may argue, but that is what I think. I am the person I spend the most of my time with. No matter where I am, I always have my own company and my own thoughts. If I can’t learn to love the person that knows me the most, knows me the best, knows me the longest… then how will I be able to love anything or anyone else. If I can’t give myself boundaries then how will I be able to with others?? If I don’t know what I like then how will I know what path to go down?? If I don’t know how to forgive myself, let things go, and move on in life then how will I be able to with others?? I can’t tell you the last time I loved myself. Has been decades, if ever. I always knew I needed too, but fooled myself into thinking I did. It is at the point where I either need to learn to love myself or get ready for a long and lonely life. I need to dive into my Love Story. I need to fall in love with myself. I need to forgive myself for mistakes and hurts I’ve done so that I can move on and grow…because I love myself. I need to understand that I am not perfect and that it is ok…because I love myself. I need to accept my flaws and failures and not let them define who I am…because I love myself. I’ve been waiting, so all that’s left to do is run. I can confidently say I am in my Love Story Era. I am falling in love with myself again. I am writing my Love Story and accepting all parts of it because I love myself. Do I know how the Story will go or end?? Absolutely not. Does it matter?? Absolutely not. When you love someone, you love every last part of them. The good and bad. The known and unknown. The past and future. You take it in stride, learn and grow, and keep going. Sometimes you fight, sometimes you cry, sometimes you need help from others. That is part of it. That is going to be a part of my Love Story. When you love someone though, it doesn’t matter. When you love yourself, it doesn’t matter. You want to keep going to be the best version of yourself you can be so that when those opportunities, those jobs, those romantic partners come along…you can love them just as well as you love yourself. This Love is difficult, but it’s real.