The Lover Stolen by the Years

I don't belong here, yet somehow I've fallen for you. I traded a lifetime of marriage for seven years of freedom through high school and college. I thought a simple, ordinary life was true freedom, but I didn't know that ordinary people are destined to be overlooked. I thought that if I loved you sincerely, I would eventually receive your embrace, but I didn't know that sincere love was destined to be drowned out. I thought marriage to you would be a shackle, but I didn't know that this bond would tie me to you for life and become my source of support. Youth, confusion, hesitation, struggle, pain, choices, and hopes. Can love, friendship, and family withstand the trials of the world? The person you love is all of me, the real me. A storm-tossed petrel is unyielding; a rose among thorns blooms fiercely. Only against the wind can I fly. Only after turning my life around will I deserve love and be able to stand by your side.