15 years coupledom = Marriage. No?

Have you read the news that Leona Lewis and her boyfriend of 10 years have broken up?  That was the relationship that I thought would last considering the time that they had been together, and they met when they were only 10. 

Sure, they're celebrities and they lead a different kind of life, but they're just the same when it comes to love. My news feed is often colorful, and by that I mean my brother's friends especially girls, who are professing their undying love for their boyfriends. They're just 14. It's like saying, What does Bieber knows about love at 15?

I am in a long term relationship myself, 5 years to be exact. I've seen my fair share of long term relationships that finally made it down the aisle and those that didn't. Some relationships were as short as a year, some were as long for more than a decade.  It suddenly donned to me that the years in a relationship does NOT guarantee that much wanted ring on the finger (marriage). 

Ever heard of carpe diem? Yes, seize the moment. My relationship started out in high school when I was about to sit for my SPM. The relationship was young and very fragile; what people usually call, puppy love. We've been through many, many things for 5 years, and we've talked about marriage. But there are many things that we have to think through before walking down that aisle.

We're not stable financially as we both are still living with parents and still need their financial aids. We're both below 25, and guys below 25 find it hard to commit to a marriage because they still want to enjoy being guys. Unless we're able to stand on our own feet with our own incomes, then it's a definite possibility. Like what Andrew said in The Proposal, "I'm not rich. My parents are rich."

I'm not being negative, I'm just being realistic. The world has endless possibilities, it's 2010 now and human can now have iPhone 4G. Imagine 2011. It doesn't mean you've been together for 15 years, you'll get married to the guy/girl you love. It's the fact now. That is why FOREVER doesn't exist in my love dictionary, it's very overrated. It's what you do in those years to keep your relationship going stronger and to keep the sparks alive. Relationships are not handcuffs, where you're bonded together 24/7.

You can keep going for 3 years, but if only one of you are willing to go the extra mile, yet the other one is walking 10 steps behind you, it's still not going to guarantee you a marriage. If you think relationships are tough, try marriage. 

Life's not a fairytale, where it's happily ever after after getting married. I will refrain from reading fairytale stories to my kids in the future. T_T Sometimes, girls have to realize that being together for years will not lead to a marriage. You can do every single thing together in those years, but when it has run its course, it will end. It would be a lie if you said during those years you never fought with your partner. Sometimes, we lose faith in what we initially believed in.

I'm scared myself, of how my own relationship will turn out to be, and I'm uncertain of what's in front of us. God has laid out a plan for us, a different one than ours. 

If I told you, every couple needs a break, would you believe me? If I told you, every couple becomes frustrated with each other, would you believe me?

Happy couples don't mean they're all set for marriage. Troubled ones don't mean it won't work out. Sometimes being together for too long may cause boredom. Sometimes doing too many things together all the time might lose the spark. Sometimes distance DON'T make the heart grows fonder. Sometimes differences DO matter. Sometimes it isn't because of trust, it is because the feelings are just gone.

You may ask, who are you to say all these? 

I am nobody, but somebody with an opinion and has observed all that I have said. Nothing in this world is guaranteed because what we own in this world cannot be taken into afterlife. If you said, putting a RM100 note in a dead person's hand inside his/her coffin will miraculously appear in his/her hand in afterlife, you seriously need to remember that, when humans are born into this world, humans came with nothing in their hands.

Why would we have something in our hands when we go back to where it all started?

Same thing goes with relationships. It's beautiful to have someone by our side for years, but anything can happen along the way. Positive or not, it's bound to happen. When we love, love graciously. It's easy to get lost in this world where people are showing their loves publicly all the time. Love graciously, it shows through private affections. 

But despite all that may happen, just have a little faith in love. Marriage or no marriage, love brings us together. Love while you can and when you can. Don't get into the FOREVER bandwagon, unless you're a fan of Forever21. I am, but they don't have any store in Kuching nor they ship clothes here.

If you're going to love forever, live forever. Forever is eternity, and no BODY lives for eternity. Only souls. 

Love graciously. :)