If I Knew Then...

With more than a quarter of my life under my belt, I’d like to think that I am not just older, but wiser as well. See, deep down, I feel as though we are always craving for new relationships. New friends, a new boo, an undiscovered dentist, whatever. It keeps us on our toes, it makes us dress a little better and care more about the potential of what tomorrow will bring.

However. What if we had the opportunity to know what was going to happen in a relationship before it even happened? Would you walk up to your future ex-boyfriend and go, "Hi. My name is blah blah blah, and I’m going to be your ex one day. We’re going to get along just fine in the beginning, of course, and as time goes on, I’ll get tired of you. I’ll begin to question your motives and accuse you of cheating on me-- you’ll be frustrated at me for going through your things when you’re not looking. We’ll have a rocky, horrible breakup that will last for months, and all the while have soul-shaking, amazing sex in between. You down?"

Would we avoid certain people, knowing what kind of heartache they would bring to our lives? Dodge persons of the same sex who have the potential to be really good friends, but in the end leave us feeling alone, wasted and spent?

Now, before you all stampede the stage with your "Heck no I wouldn’t do it!!" or "I’d kill him before he even met me!!", think about this. What would you learn if you didn’t? Would you, could you, appreciate yourself a little more if you didn’t meet that person? Would you, could you, still be able to take away a life experience that will help you in the future? Things that you learn from? Would you want to take away the ability to nod your head in agreement with someone who is going through the same thing, and tell your story to help them through?

So, the next time you let someone in your life go, just remember that you always had the chance in the beginning to never start the relationship in the first place. But would you be as awesome as you are now if you didn’t take the chance?