It’s a firm belief of mine that the destination of my life is not marriage, family, and children. There is and will never be a destination for me because life is too wonderful to have an ending. I’ve always followed the belief that finding happiness by means of traveling, exploring the world, creating art, and writing pieces that bring joy to other people is the most important aspect of this life’s journey.
But it’s not to put a stake through the heart of marriage or family. I just don’t believe they are the only means to my happiness. They are a nice additive to my already amazing and well-earned life.
In the past 3 years, I learnt the most important thing about a relationship is the ability to be an individual while maintaining a partnership that requires some alteration of myself but not to the point where my friends and families don’t recognize me.
A relationship should bring the best out of you through times of toughness and roughness, in times of roses and honey.
I want to still like who I become and be proud of what I have to offer, no matter the partnership formed or the where my life flows down towards. And this is the truth with friendship and jobs as well.
In the past 3 years with my boyfriend, I’ve learnt to forgive, to accept change, to let go (some) of my ego, and to be someone’s pillar when times get rough. I learnt I can offer more, I am worth more, and I deserve so much. We’ve gone through more ups than downs, we’ve traveled and explored the world, and our morals and ethics align themselves that even if our dreams change, the person I love is still the same.
So when he finally asked me to continue my adventure with his, how could I say no?
Not one for fanfare, it was a quiet proposal by Lake Geneva. The rain had finally stopped, a swan was swimming towards Château de Chillon, flowers in full blooms and the sun trying ever so hard to peek through the clouds clinging closely to the edges of the Alps, but eventually losing its battle.
As a child, I had always wanted to escape into the puzzle (read blog post here). The chateau offered the idea that if I dreamed hard enough, if I worked hard enough, I could step into that world and leave behind my sad and angst-y childhood.
So he was listening to me when I told him the story. With a view of the chateau, he gave me a book and a necklace since I can’t wear rings. A zircon was set encircled by diamonds, as zircons are considered by geologist as the diary to the earth’s surface. The handmade book, which he spent several months taking a book binding class to learn to make, had a simple request:
I like to joke that we are now affianced to each other instead of him being affianced to me since we have both proposed.
