Love and Regret

LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET LOVE AND REGRET

Love, like many things, comes in waves. Sometimes, it’s followed by a corresponding wave of regret. I know many people, including myself, have struggled with regret when it comes to past relationships, sex, and thing needs to end before it actually does; allove. When dealing with love and regret, one can though, hindsight truly is 20/20. feel almost ostracized. While, as of late, such top- The reason for such regret is change; people and ics have been discussed more freely, people still preferences change. When we originally enter tend to direct attention towards their personal into a new relationship, we are often a much difhighlights. Therefore, I found myself struggling ferent person than we are by the end of it. Some to find what I needed to hear. people are able to grow with us, but others are I have felt a sense of regret multiple times in not as lucky. When looking back on what I almy, relatively short, love life. I was tempted to lowed myself to deal with in past relationships, tack “unfortunately” onto the beginning of that I felt close to a sense of disgust. However, I now sentence, and I now realize this was my prob- understand the reality of this unhealthy behavlem all along. It is normal, and utterly human, to ior and hope that anyone who might currently wish that certain things didn’t happen. When it feel this way does too. I realized that without comes to love, regret can be a tricky thing. I want those people, I would not be the person I am to preface this by saying that regret should not today. I now know what I deserve because of be mistaken for guilt. I doubt many will disagree those relationships. I now know the value of the with me when I say that finding the courage to right person and a healthy relationship. Those break up with someone is much harder than low moments were not in vain. Instead of refinding the courage to ask them out, and I con- gret, we should feel grateful towards the people sider myself to be a rather strong-willed and in- of our past. They have taught us to never again dependent person. In the past, I was convinced settle for something less than what we know we that I would regret breaking things off, when deserve. Life is a continuous learning process, in reality, those feelings really stemmed from which can be accompanied by regret. It is what a place of guilt. This guilt was a result of past you do with the regret that counts. I am simply comfort and memories, long tainted by the toxic here to say that I hope you choose to learn and tendencies of a relationship past its expiration grow from it. date. We owe these people neither regret nor guilt, but honesty. By Jolie Tanner I found myself struggling with a different kind of regret. I tend to regret my time spent on something, or someone, that did not prove to be “worth it” in the end. While it can be hard to come to terms with the reality of a relationship in the moment, I find that I often know some-