Like or Love, it's over Part 3

Like or Love or None of the above.
Is it like or is it love.
The feeling you get when you're around someone.
What about the feeling you don't get when you're around them.
The times they've hurt you so bad you question yourself, "Why am I here."
The times they've told you they'll be there, but they weren't.
Or the times they showed up late to your event.
That's love right? At least like?
We are human. We make mistakes.
We forgive. But never forget.
And the relationship will repair itself.
Forgiveness is a beautiful thing.
So we stay.

"Fool me once, shame on them. Fool me twice, shame on me."
Scars. Scars remind us of our broken hearts.
Scars remind us our broken hearts were once torn apart.
Afraid, Weak, Scarred, that is what we are.
Nobody likes to live alone. Nobody likes to be alone.
So we stay committed to something half committed.
We commit to the one thing we believe will change.
We stay committed to the one person you believe is different.
We stay committed because it's the one thing we hope for.
And in order to stay committed, we ask ourselves the question.
Is it worth it.
Do the gains exceed the pain.
Do the desires exceed the needs.
We think we love them, We tell ourselves we love them.
But we don't love em. We don't even like em'
We tell ourselves we love em' so we won't leave.
We tell them we love em' so they won't leave.
Is it Like ? Is it Love.

Our insecurities about ourselves and that one person become our closest friends problems.
Our insecurities are questioned to our friends.
"Tell me now what you see."
We believe their experience will cover our inexperience.
We believe because they know us, they will choose for us.
They are the third party in the relationship, so they will be neutral.
Wrong.
They are for us because they are our friend, that is why we went to them.
So instead, we go to someone who we call our acquaintance.
We share, we ask, we question.
What do we do, have you ever been in this situation, what's going to happen.?
But you have already answered that question.
You don't realize that everything you expressed is every reason to leave.
And you rebuttal because you believe they can change.
But you've already been down this road before.
And if you're driving down the same road in the wrong direction, you know one things for sure.
You have to turn around.

Is it like or is it love.
The reason you stay. Stay miserable.
Maybe your comfortable. Maybe you offer another chance.
Maybe your wrong, maybe your friend is wrong. They will change.
They've done it before. It's just a mistake.
And we should forgive the ones we love.
Right?

How long are you going to replay that.
How long are you going to stay.
How long are you willing to stay.
The measure of your love isn't measure by the time you stay.
Ask yourself, are you happy.
Ask yourself, why aren't you happy.
The only reason you're not leaving is because your comfortable.
The only reason you're not staying is because it's too complicated to leave.
My bank accounts shared with his.
What about our future vacation.
What about our mutual friends, what would they say?
Shouldn't I sacrifice just one more time?

Is it Like or is it love?
It's over.
Face the facts and face reality.
The one thing you were holding on to isn't worth holding on to.
It doesn't matter what she says, he says.
It doesn't matter what I say.
At the end of the day, what you want isn't what you have.
What you want is more than what you have.
People will always offer their opinions, their advice.
Should you listen? Yeah.
But you're not making the decision for them.
You're making the decision for you.
You don't stay because they want you there.
You don't stay because you don't want to be there.
Do you love them? Yeah.
Are you in love with them? Well, if you've gotten this far, NO.
How long are you going to stay until YOU change.

Is it Like or is it love?
It's none of the above.
There are over 6 billion people in this world.
There's more than just one right person.
You just haven't found them yet.
Stop living comfortable.
Stop being scared.
Stop being lazy.
Learn from your mistakes.
Because you never realize what life has more to offer.
Chase your dreams. Follow Your heart.
Not your friends, not mine. Nobody else's.
Blessings are a gift and we shouldn't put a question mark where God put a period.
At the end of the day, the only person in the relationship is you.
The only person in charge of your life is you.
Do something about it.

Love. or Like? Part 1.

There comes a time when we wonder the most discussed word known to man.
If animals could speak our language, they too would want to express it themselves.
Love, What is love. What is the meaning of love. And have I been in it.
We all have said the word, "I love ..."
Was it to your dog, your pet fish. Maybe to your grandmother, or your sister.
Yes, you've said it to your best friend, your friend in need, the friend who you've helped in tough situations.
But even though we used it more frequently then we can think of, we never ask ourselves, do we mean it.

Remember the good ol' days of middle school and high school.
We had crushes. People we thought were attractive, funny, cute.
And from there, our crushes became someone we liked.
We mistakenly said we liked them, when in all honesty, we never really knew them.
We were interested. Compelled. Attracted. Questioning.
And from there, maybe we got lucky.
Maybe they too, like us, were interested, attracted and curious.
The very beginning of our first crush, our first experience became a relationship.
The times we would talk for hours on the phone to rant about homework and gossip.
But wait, didn't we do that with our friends?
What was the difference? The word girlfriend, boyfriend, maybe?
As the times passed, we waited longer and longer until we couldn't wait no more.
It was the sixth month of the relationship, and finally one caves in.
The L bomb is dropped and all is not well.
We didn't love them, we only like them.

Have you ever told someone you loved them, who wasn't someone other than your relatives or anyone living under your roof.
If your adult about it, you can admit it.
It wasn't easy.
We've said to people we regret.
We've said it to people we didn't mean it for.
So the question is, what is the difference between like and love?
How do you know what is appropriate.

I knew this girl once. For name sakes, let's just call her B.
B. was everything I never expected.
From the time we first met, there was something there.
Something mysterious, something curious.
So as curiosity grew, so did attraction.
And as it goes in human nature, attraction if enough time spent,
turns into liking.
We watched movies, went for drives, walked in places.
We talked on the phone, through Myspace, and Instant Messenger.
As the relationship grew, so did our feelings.
When you like someone, it's this feeling you get where you want to spend every
second of every minute with them.
When you like someone, you hope they're free when you are, so you can spend it learning about them.
You see, if rightfully attracted, you'll notice every miniature thing about them.
Their smile, their laugh. The way they talk. The way they walk.
The attitude they yell, The feelings they express.
When you have someone significant, you see the difference between you,
And you see the difference between another friend.
It's different.
Every action they have with them is similar with you.
But you, you have the cherry on top.
You have the extra mile, the bigger smile.
The upper hand if you will.
Like, is something or someone you enjoy being around, or having in your life.
Love, is something or someone you need in your life.

And as the relationship grew, the more and more time I would sacrifice for her.
It wasn't because B. asked me too.
It was because I wanted to, and I knew B. enjoyed it.
But you ask, isn't that the story of relationships?
Yes, and no.
I had relationships come and go, before and after B.
But her as a person, was just simply put, on another level than the rest.
We've liked hundreds of thousands of people.
But only a select few are ever loved.
What separates the person from the rest isn't easy to explain.
You see, like you, I was in the boat of saying it because I thought I felt it.
I was in the boat of expressing the word love because I saw friends do it.
I saw myself portray the media, action for action, and drop the L bomb
just because the media said it was okay.
Like times before, I never felt it, I only said it to say it.
Kind of like, "As Seen on TV."
This girl was more than that.
No girl ever made me that happy.

Love, has this funny thing about it, where you think you feel it but you're not sure.
We've had relationships like that before, kind of like the borderline.
Is it like or is it love?
Did I really like B, or did I love her?
Liking someone is easy. Getting someone to like you takes some work.
When you think about someone you like, you smile and giggle because the day dreams you have are what can happen.
When you think about a person you love, you smile because the day dreams you have, is what's happening.
I loved b. For more than who she was.
I loved b. For not just her little actions and habits.
I loved b. Because no one cared about me more than she.
I loved b. Because the way she made me feel.
I loved b. Because she changed my worlds in more ways than one.
And that is why I did what I did.
And why I do what I do.

Like is knowing them, their character, their personality. Their favorites, their likes.
Love is knowing them better than themselves. Love is knowing what they will like, what food they rather have, what vacation they rather go on.
Like is when you take footsteps and they person may or may not follow.
Love is when you take footsteps and the person is next to you, regardless.
Like is them having a choice of taking the same route as you,
Love is them not wanting a choice, taking the same route as you.
Like, is this feeling you get when you see them.
Love is the feeling you get when you don't see them.

To Be Continued.

Captain of your Own ship

Our life is the measure of our happiness versus the goals we need to achieve.
Along the way, we reach even more obstacles within ourselves,
smaller than the goals we need to reach, but bigger than we'd ever believe.
We chase our wildest dreams, hope for the impossible, and pray for a miracle.
We forget about our goals.
Never do we think about the simplistic words like dedication, work ethic, choice, or sacrifice.
Life isn't a breeze, nor are it's achievements.
If we didn't have to work hard enough for it, we don't deserve it.
Nor did we earn it, or want it. Simply put, there's something more.
Choice, my friend, is what life is all about.
The choices we made yesterday affected us today.
Today, our choices will affect tomorrow.
And Tomorrow, our choices will decide our fate.
It all starts with a choice, which makes up our journey.
Do we want to wake up tomorrow and go to work to earn some money to pay the bills.
Do we want to wake up tomorrow and go have fun, lose some money, and hurt our credit.
Or maybe, we want to not wake up and give up on life because it revolves around money.
And most of us, never put in the effort to attend anything meaningful after high school.
We got stuck working part time jobs at restaurants, or full time at some minimum wage job.
We tell ourselves, "I'm lazy, I'm not going back to school."
We stay in these jobs because we choose to take the other half of the part time to party.
We choose to better our friendships instead of bettering ourselves.
We live paycheck to paycheck, with unstable job security, in-the-moment type lives.
We make even poorer decisions by purchasing things we can't afford, hurting our credit, and creating a deep hole of debt.
We believe we have found love, accidentally bringing children into the world we can't afford.
How can we take care of the children if we can't take care of ourselves.
Instead of making life simple, we make it complex.
They say the world is struggling and the government needs to do something about it.
Why should they help us if we don't show them how hard we can and WANT to work.
"Unemployment doesn't help you, it hurts you."
Yet most of us say we'll collect unemployment until it runs out because We're lazy and we don't want to work.
Instead of blaming the government or anybody else, we need to face the reality.
In reality, we are the ones struggling to make the right decisions to make our lives better.
We are the ones that got us down into this deep hole we can't escape from.
Most of us don't want to put in the time or the work for the price tag we believe we are worth.
Most of us prefer not to go back and get an education, or learn a skill.
Others who have the skill set and the talents to reach the highest plateau stop short,
because of life obstacles such as debt, laziness, or sickness.
We were built by the government but over taken by the media.
We believe we deserve better and expect some miracle to give us riches.
If things were so easy, we would all be this rich.
If things were so easy, we wouldn't be living in a struggle.
Right decisions will equal hard work paying off.
"The Rich stay Rich and the poor stay poor."
Only because we let it happen.
We look at our families, our parents, our siblings.
They brought us into this world, raised us as their own, and set the expectations no greater than what they have.
And that equals our mediocre goals.
We believe that education after high school isn't as important.
We expect the corporate world to hire us because we deserve it.
But what separates you from the person next to you.
It sure isn't a degree you possess.
What miracle skill set were you gifted that nobody else has.
"Get paid to do something with your mind, not your hands."

Happiness doesn't revolve around money.
But the world does.
And if we don't act now, work hard now, we will be working for the rest of our lives,
Mediocre jobs.
Paycheck to paycheck, no retirement fund in place, or stability and security.
If we follow what everyone else does, we will suffer.
If we follow what everyone else does, we will be no different.
Hard work wasn't supposed to be fun.
And it's okay to have fun from time to time.
But it is you who needs to sacrifice your fun for your education.
Broadening the horizon, taking the time and effort to learn, will better you.
It will only Better You.
But with greatness comes sacrifices.
With expectations, comes effort.
With choices, comes responsibility.
Your responsibility.
It is you who needs to walk the path because nobody else can walk it for you.
We all have our own lives and our wants and desires.
It is only us who can shape that fate, walk down the aisle, and make the choices.
Remember, if the choice was easy, the outcome will be mediocre.
Change your work ethic and you'll change your life.
Change your choices and it will change your outcome.
Don't change it for me, your family, or your friends.
Change it for you, your life, your style.
Change it to better produce for your children.
Set the expectations higher and you'll better your future.
Independently Independent, not Independently dependent.
You are the captain of your ship, and you have two choices.
Sail to the cove where your friends and families are playing in the sand.
Or sail off to the unknown world, where nothing is for sure.
Nothing is given, and nothing is known.
Maybe another world is there.