Life and relationships

         "Life is what happens while you are making other plans." This quote may be very familiar to you. We all talk about what we are going to be when we grow up. Very few of us are lucky enough to achieve that childhood desire. I, for one, thought I would become either a fiction writer or a game play-tester. I certainly didn't put much thought into where I would have ended up today.

         I remember hearing my parents constantly arguing when I was just a child. If they weren't arguing over finances, they were arguing about one or another's affairs. I remember them divorcing when I was only ten years old. I remember how they each moved on, never settling down until they each finally found the one they wanted to spend the rest of their respective lives with. I remember how their actions made me feel about relationships.

         I decided that going steady was not for me. I was never really liked as a young teen, so remaining single was not all that difficult. I would spend all my free time hanging out at the arcade with what few real friends I managed to obtain. We would all hang out around this game called "Pump It Up." It was one of those dancing arcade games. We would show off our moves and just generally have fun. The only problem was, all my friends were in relationships, leaving me out in the lonely cold.

         By the time I was 15 years old, I had learned how to take my dislike for relationships and benefit from it. The girls all talked big about looking for a nice guy, but always chose to be with the bad boy. Having given up hope of ever seeing myself in a real, serious relationship, I decided to try something new. I became a professional rebound boyfriend. I had all the benefits of being in a relationship with none of the emotional commitment. This lasted for a few years, until I enlisted in the Army, moved away, and met someone.

         It seemed as if the perfect woman fell into my lap. We had fallen in love and ended up married a mere two months after we met. The, just like any other couple, we had our arguments. Five years later, the arguments became too much and we parted ways. I ended up moving back to my home town after she moved her new boyfriend into my apartment. I decided to give up on relationships once again and only take care of myself.

         In retrospect, everything that has happened has been a long, drawn-out learning experience. Had I known back then what I know now, I would not have lived to experience it all myself. You shouldn't spend so much time worrying about what impact certain things will have in your life. You should experience them, or before you know it, life will have passed you by.