I am a very different person from who I was last year. While I still believe in love, I advance with a new sense of caution. There was a time in my life when my need to believe in it precipitated feelings for people too quickly, and mostly in a very "smoke and mirrors" way. I created my own version of relationships which had little to do with reality but was thick with the magic of romance. Looking back I realize that not only did I cheat myself out of true emotions, but that in the process I hurt many of those I cared the most about by beckoning them into my dream of love.

I can't take those actions back, but I can say that I have changed. It's almost as if my eyes have opened and I feel capable of waiting for what I've pretended at for so long.