My Favorite Mistake

I thought about this for a few minutes, and I keep coming back to the same thing. So, I’d say my favorite mistake was staying in a relationship for too long with the wrong person.

Don’t get me wrong; he wasn’t/isn’t a bad person, per se. He just wasn’t right for me. Although I hate to admit it, my whole world pretty much revolved around him. And because I wanted to be the perfect girlfriend, I basically did whatever he suggested. I was never 100 percent myself around him because I felt he wouldn’t like the real me (sad, but true…but you live and you learn). Why did I stay? Fear. I’d read the articles and heard the statistics. You know: 72 percent of Black women won’t get married…blah, blah, blah. I figured I wouldn’t be able to find another suitable Black man, so I figured I might as well stick to what I had. Long story short, I finally realized how unhappy I was and decided that no, staying with him because I didn’t think I could find someone better suited for me was a crappy reason to be in a relationship.

What did I learn from that mistake?

• If a person can’t accept you for who you are (in a romantic relationship or otherwise), he or she should not be in your life.
• Don’t listen to everything the mainstream media tells you (especially if you’re a Black woman).
• If I let go of something that’s not good for me, I open myself up to receive better things God has in store for me.
• I can (and did) find a partner who loves me for me, unconditionally.
• Ultimately, you have to do what’s best for you.