My One True Love

Relationships can be one of the most fulfilling parts of life. Although my mother and father were never together as a couple, the strength of my maternal grandparents’ love for the past 40 years always reassured me. While their relationship is far from perfect you can tell from miles away that they’re each other’s biggest fans. Not only has their relationship lasted so long, but my grandparents have had quite a love story. When she was around my age my grandma was an exceptional field hockey star in Pakistan (you know what’s upsetting? Everyone in my family was athletic stars at my age, and I was cut from three high school sports). She was so amazing that her face was plastered all over magazines and television. Stunned by her beauty my grandpa tracked her down at one of her games and begged her to marry him. The one thing I value most about this story is how quickly strangers can turn into people that we love, but also how people we love can turn into strangers even faster. All of us desire to be in a relationship and find our own soulmates relatively quickly. While it’s partially human nature it’s also as if we’ve built this idea that having someone by our side determines our worth in this world. While seeking these relationships we sometimes accidentally form attachments to people that don’t actually deserve us. To people that would never do what my grandpa would do, and just leave you with disappointment. We have grown to think that the bare minimum is sufficient and that it’s all we need to be happy. In my opinion, if the person you’ve attached yourself to isn’t breaking down barriers to be with you then what’s the point? Don’t form attachments to people that you don’t own or that don’t give enough. Because, when they fail you, your happiness will be contingent on that disappointment. Your one true love is yourself and you have to make sure that someone loves you as much as you love yourself.

- With love, Fiza Usman

The cutest grandparents in da world!