The world is divided into two types of people when it comes to love – one which adores the idea and one which despises it.

The first set of people may be in love or influenced by the romance around them in the form of people, movies or novels.

The second kind is the ‘forever alone’ people frustrated by not having someone to love or being sent to the friend zone over and again or those people who once believed in the magic of love but their bittersweet experiences have made them give up on such ideas. 

Irrespective of ideological differences, relationships make up an integral part of every person’s life once they are committed to it. The gradual phase from strangers to friends and then to lovers is a unique experience for every couple and definitely a very special one.

The best kind of relationships are those where you can be the best friend when needed and lover at other times, the gradual shift seems easy and you just know which role to assume at what time. There are people who question what couples talk so much about – well, do you not chatter incessantly with your best friend? This is exactly the same.

I am in a relationship and it makes me very happy. I have someone to tell all my stories to and the one whose stories I want to listen to, I have that person who listens to all my problems and tries to find solutions for them with me while providing me with the comfort I need when I need it, I have someone in my life whose presence makes all the worries seem insignificant. 

It is a relationship which functions on emotions and the heart and not on material possessions and gifts bestowed upon one another. Sure thing that I do appreciate a gift once a while but it does not form the basis of my relationship and quite honestly, in my personal opinion, I feel that if this is the root of someone’s relationship then any change in wealth or interest may turn the relationship upside down completely. 

I am kind of a hopeless romantic as well, I do not wish for grand occasions to occur but am pleasantly surprised by the little gestures. Those are the things that I appreciate a lot – ones that I do not try explaining to others because insensitive people often ruin moments with unkind words but those which I have as memories very close to my heart (seriously, the lesser people you involve, the happier your relationship stays).

It is the simple gestures like asking to take your medicine, remembering to tell you to cover yourself properly otherwise you’d catch a cold, holding your hand in a scary moment or covering your eyes during that scene in a movie, saving the last bite for you, and so on – the list is limitless. 

My Prince Charming is not the Shakespearean Romeo type, he is much more practical and sweeps me off my feet while not making me lose contact with the world. How it helps is that I stay shielded emotionally from all that is unpleasant but I still know how to face reality.

Happily being in a relationship means that the person you love means the world to you, that after a point the impermanence of things and fast pace of life catch up but you still remember to live the moment, that the person makes life seem easier, that you know you are hopelessly in love but cannot help yourself and nor do you want to!

There will be ups and downs but you would have to work through it and not ignore the problems and let it grow.