This is my story

Here’s my story. Back in 2010 I got together with this beautiful, smart, fun, crazy, loving girl. Our story started with a simple game of volleyball. At that time I was a 19 year old guy with a knack for that sport. I’ve played the game for almost 10 years before I got a bad knee injury that got me off the sport for good. But that didn’t stop me from wanting to help people who really enjoy the game get better at it. I found a team that had the potential, but just lacked in the basics of the game. The school principal and school directress didn’t have any faith in the players the team, but I soon suggested that “If I can get them to win a game, will you let them continue playing?”, when I said that, they responded that it would take a miracle to make that team win, they gave me a shot. So then I decided to come up with a good regimen on how to get this team better.

After watching videos online on volleyball training, fitness programs, and most importantly anti-injury videos. I came up with a simple to hard training regimen that could be done by women ages 12 – 17. It was simple basic movements and a little body training. After 4 months of training and hardworking players, the team got better and better and finally succeeded in winning a game! The team got their recognition from the higher ups and were able to continue on. By this time I bet most of you are wondering “How’s this all connected to the girl?”. I’m getting there! So the team continued on for the next year and actually made it to the City finals! Unfortunately at that time I wasn’t the one who lead them to victory, but still I was so proud of the team that had been ignored, put down, and was at the verge of being disbanded to make it that far. During that time I was busy with my job as an online freelancer, but I had formed a bond with one of the players in the team. She was really young at the age of 14, which made me feel kind of a bit concerned.

Well it starts here. We were both worried on how people would look at us if we ever get together, things like look at that guy he’s too old for that girl, or maybe that girl is just being seduced or something, and a lot more weird things popping into my head and hers, but that didn’t fully stop me from just being in contact with her. We actually did manage to go out sometimes, but not really go out as dating yet, but it slowly grew into a real “relationship” yes I said it, “relationship”, please do not compare this word with “puppy love” or a “fling”, totally different type of couple. A little backstory of the girl is that her family lives in a church, her father is a pastor, her mother is a devote teacher of the word via the beliefs of “Christians”, don’t confuse this with apparently the “pseudo-Christians” like the Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans or Baptists, her brother who I really don’t know much what he does, and a little sister. They are part of the Church of Nazarene (by the way, I’m Roman Catholic). By this time I confessed to her and we finally officially got together!

Here comes the fireworks, I bet some of you are like “Oh no, that can’t be!” or “Why don’t you just convert?”. Well it’s not that simple for me. For other’s it must be really easy or maybe just no big deal. Every Sunday we go to different churches, I went to a catholic church and she went to the Nazarene church. There were some Sundays that I attended their services just to see how it is. To be honest they do a lot more fun things like joyful singing, a bit comfortable chairs (you know what I mean!), and members telling their stories and achievements. This kind of made me feel like “this would be a nice place to be!”

So then 3 years passed, but since I didn’t join their church yet I started hearing some things that are very hard to take in sometimes. I did my fair share of being an asshole and prick to be honest. We talk on the phone almost every night with the girl and we share things together. There some moments where I would hear that the people in her church started treating her differently when they found out that I wasn’t part of their church. Like they would say things like “her brother is having a better life because his partner is part of their church” or “Don’t you see why you’re not moving forward? It’s because he’s not a member of the Nazarene”. Well going back to the story, even after all these things were said, I still didn’t join, I’m stuck between believing in what I believe and just changing everything I know just to please them. Let me get my side in, I believe that there is a God, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that they are the only beings allowed to pass judgement on anybody.

During those times we would still go out to the park, enjoy a movie together, go to the arcade, take strolls in different places, and even just look for a place that we can talk and enjoy each other’s company. Magical times! But then something happened, my knee got even worse due to another injury and I had to get it operated on.  February 16, 2013 was the day that I had to undergo surgery. This thing hit me hard, I wasn’t able to walk for a week and the saddest part was that she didn’t have the time to visit me while I was in the hospital due to her busy schedule, she’s in college by the way. February 24, 2016 was the day that I got released! Man that day felt awesome! Only problem was that I still couldn’t walk properly with a big enormous bandage on my leg. The pain of walking from one place to another was like spilling hot boiling alcohol on an open wound. Well enough of that, 3 days pass and I finally got a visit from her in my home. YES! I was so overjoyed that I cried like a little baby seeing their mommy after a long time. Yes judge me if you will, but I was so happy to see her! But during that time I wasn’t fully recovered yet and still had to take some medicine for the pain and fever to come. During the day of her visit I came up with a very high fever that almost made me lose my mind! She was there to comfort me, she gave me medicine and she stayed beside the entire time. This was a moment that would be etched into my heart for the rest of my life.

As time progressed I went for therapy and she would always send me messages to keep my spirits up, she would tell me to always go and not skip a single day. With her motivation I kept pushing through the hard moments and hard times even if some of those times were really hard that I felt really depressed. I had negative thoughts about ever walking normally again. There were some nights where I would actually let out some tears and just tell her that I’m fine, because I didn’t want her to think that she isn’t helping. She really helped me a lot through those days of hardship.  Three months passed and I finally started walking with cane. Yes I can finally go places myself! At that time I landed a job as a computer facilitator in a school. I would teach them lessons on the basics of computer software and hardware. I enjoyed teaching, but I still felt like it wasn’t something that really suited me, but I pressed on until the next year.

February 16, 2014 came and I had to undergo another procedure to remove screws from my past operation. Well this time I only stayed for 3 days and got home walking with a cane. It wasn’t as hard as the first operation at all! This time I didn’t need to undergo long and painful therapy sessions! YES! But it still took at least a month before I could walk normally again. All fine and dandy after all that, but this year was a painful year for me. I couldn’t land a job, I don’t know what to do with my life and I don’t have a direction to look forward to. I always thought about what I would do if I get married, will I be able to sustain a family? Will I be able to provide for my wife? What the heck is wrong with you?! Will I finally convert into a Nazarene? Will be able to get my girl a birthday present this year? Will I be able to get her a Christmas present this year? How will you earn money if you’re not doing anything?!!! And much much more things that made my mind go crazy. I also thought about finding a job to send my girl to school as she was having a hard time with her tuition fee and expenses. I just kept getting deeper and deeper into a slump and not going anywhere at all. Until I finally decided to help out in my family’s business which was a school. I took on the job of being at the front desk and accounting. This wasn’t that bad, but I wanted to do something more to be able to get my girl the things she wants, places she wants to go, and the presents that I could get her. Up until this day I still feel like a nobody. I feel like I couldn’t do anything to make her life better. I actually live to make her happy, because when she smiles it makes me feel so happy that I sometimes get teary eyed just thinking about that smile and how happy she was at those moments.

The year 2015, this was a very big year for me, because I decided to go back to school and build myself up to something I and my girl can be proud of. At first I had my doubts, because I was a lot older than most of my classmates and sometimes even the professors. It took me awhile to get used to it again, but I still got to pull through and continued going to school, because the best part of it was that I got to see my girl almost every single day! There were some days that I felt really tired and exhausted, but I still go to her because she makes me feel so happy and whole again. There are times that I would skip lunch just to save up my money and feed her at the end of the day. I tell her that I already ate, but her content after having a nice meal after her long day fills my stomach up. I know it’s wrong to lie about it, but my apologies, I really love seeing that smile of hers. I often have really bad pain in my knees, but I push through when I’m with her. I skip taking pain medication, because she’s concerned about my health. She’s just something worth everything of me.

After 6 years of being together my conclusion would be that I wouldn’t change a thing about her and I would want to build myself up into a man she could be so proud of. Well that would be my story so far! ;)