I told Rachel the other day that Quinn is the first boyfriend I’ve had that I actually want to be around. No offense, Cody, but once we started dating, we stopped being friends, and you know it. Either way, for those of you who haven’t seen my obsessive countdown posting on Facebook, Quinn came to Colorado last Thursday, and since I haven’t seen him since the middle of May, I was rather excited. But this post isn’t going to be a sappy ode-to-boyfriend, I promise. It’s going to be much more contemplative than that.
So I better get the sappy out of the way first. It’s 4:52pm on Monday as I’m writing this, and I have to drive Quinn to the airport in about 40 minutes, and I am incredibly sad about this fact. I don’t want him to leave. Or, more truthfully, I want to go with him. I’m ready to be back in Oregon, ready to start my senior year in college, ready to see all my friends, ready to be away from this ridiculous heat. Quinn isn’t gone yet, he’s sitting right across from me at this coffee shop, but I miss him already. Stupid long distance is stupid.
Alright. Now that that’s out of my system, let’s talk about what makes up healthy relationship. It’s pretty simple, actually. USE YOUR WORDS.
The reason my last two relationships failed was that my boyfriends and I didn’t communicate. I never fought with either of them while we were actually dating, because either I would try to start one and they’d shut down, or both of us would keep our mouths shut and let things fester. And other than outright beating each other, communication is what makes or breaks a relationship. Are you upset? Say something. Did they say something to hurt your feelings? Tell them. Are you happy? Say so. Are you uncomfortable? Speak up!
Because Quinn and I communicate, I can honestly say that I have never been more comfortable with another person in my life. This morning he looked at me and said “You are the weirdest person I’ve ever met” and then we kissed, because we’re not afraid to be ourselves. We can be open and honest and with that comes freedom and genuine affection. He can make obscure Blackadder references and I can rant about YouTube trolls, and even if the other person has no idea what we’re talking about, we listen, because that’s what two people in a real relationship do. We listen, we communicate, we laugh, we shake our fists to the sky, and we get over our bullshit.
And I’m happy. Actually, honestly, happy. Being with Quinn makes me happy. Going to college makes me happy. Hell, my life makes me happy, because I finally stopped worrying about what everyone else is doing and what everyone else thinks of me. I am so blessed to be surrounded by people I care about who care about me back, people who don’t drunk hate-comment on my blog or block me on Facebook, people who will try really bad whiskey with me and then watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and people who I hope I never lose contact with. I may not like crowded social situations or hugging people I’ve seen within two weeks of seeing them 
last, but I love my friends, my family, and my Lord-Of-The-Rings-Obsessed boyfriend. Because they’ve seen me at my best and my worst and love me anyways.
What more could a girl ask for?
