Finding Growth
This is Victoria. She’s really cool and sweet.
Last year, people all around the world experienced a devastating change in the lives they lived. COVID-19 struck every single country and took everything we knew and loved, in the form of family, friends, occupations, and many more. Of the many things that occurred during my time spent in quarantine, the one that has affected me the most so far was definitely meeting and starting a relationship with my girlfriend Victoria. I had met Victoria a month before the pandemic started, and upon our first meeting, it felt like I knew her already. We quickly became friends during an assignment for our journalism class, helping each other find sources to develop our interview skills. After that, I discovered she shared another class with me later that same day. Since then, the two of us decided to hang out on the days we had those classes and got to know each other even more. We felt incredibly comfortable with each other in a short amount of time.
When the pandemic rocked the United States, Victoria and I would occasionally text and call each other throughout the day. What started out as hour-long conversations grew into all-night hangouts on the phone. There honestly wasn’t a day when we didn’t call each other, and the closeness we built over the phone transformed a genuine friendship into a feeling of attraction between us. One day she admitted to me that she had a slight crush on me and these sessions between us had fueled those feelings even more. I was ecstatic when I heard this because I felt the same way. I had never met a woman like her before, one that connected so naturally with me that I would lose sleep to have a conversation with her. Over the months of pandemic, my feelings towards her grew to the point where I just wanted to risk leaving quarantine to see if this relationship could evolve even more.
In June, the two of us decided to hang out and spend a day at a park near her home. From there, it took awhile to feel comfortable again, considering we had confessed not too long ago, but things felt incredibly natural over time. This eventually led to our first kiss and things haven’t been the same since.
Our first time meeting since the beginning of quarantine. This is where we first kissed.
Journeying together throughout the American Dream mall and reflecting on everything.
One thing I noticed when I met Victoria was this sense of immediate comfort. When it comes to making friends, it takes me awhile to fully share some of my interests, depending on what brought us together in the first place and how long we’ve known each other. However, I felt like I could let my guard down and not repress any aspect of my personality when I talked with Victoria. I didn’t feel as if I had to blend in with her or as if anything I said may lose her. This comfort spread into my everyday life, and the confidence I have now compared to before I met Victoria is strikingly different. I’m still learning how to not to be embarrassed by some of my hobbies, but slowly and surely there is a sense of pride in the things I do and the new things I’ve found because of her. Thanks to her, I feel like I’m growing into a better person.
That’s the point of this post. While it’s great to be in a relationship, you don’t have to be in one to live a happy life. Victoria is a person that makes me feel as if I can do anything, even in the dark times we are currently struggling in. The pandemic has taught me that while we are in a world of uncertainty, it doesn’t mean we can’t find growth in the process. It just takes someone or something to bring out the best of you, no matter the scenario.