The Current is Getting Strong.

I guess one could say I've reached a point in my life of uncertainty which has led to a type of behavior that basically "goes with the flow." I see myself sinking in some areas and I see myself softening. But yet at the same time, I try to get myself to prepare for the worst while simultaneously preparing myself for the best. I'm vague when need be and I'm detailed when I get tired of holding it in. And yet I'm just...going with it.

I'd be lying to say I don't dread the idea of witnessing him with someone else. To see him walking with someone else, laughing with someone else, and finding what he might have been looking for. I mean, I've got to get myself to believe and accept that I am not that missing piece he seeks. I'm inserted nicely, I am. I invest my time with him, I listen, and I give almost as unconditionally as I know how to give.

Sometimes, when I'm not thinking, I almost convince myself I'm enough for him. Later I admit I'm silly. I push the thoughts aside for a moment and get myself to remember reality. I'll be something to someone someday, today is just not the day. But it's when he just simply looks at me and into my eyes. I can't hold that gaze long for the life of me because I inevitably fear he'll read me like a book. And if he did that, he might see the tiny little fear I still have somewhere deep down inside. And really, that's the last thing I want him to find.

I am starting to highly doubt he can read much of my behavior around him. When he gets too close to me, I freeze, stiffen up, and lack to respond half the time. When he looks at me, I look away too often. If he grabs my arm, I begin to have no idea how to react, what to say, what to do in return, and then he lets go and I regret my hesitance. When I'm close enough to him, I ignore my urges to rest my head on his shoulder if we're sitting next to each other. I ignore my urges to just hold onto him like I can. In my mind, I am respect his wish to remain as friends. And despite the fact that he crosses all the barriers I think we have (well, most), I still can't get myself to feel completely comfortable with nearness.

So what do I do instead? Well, I playfully hit him. And often I push him. I push him because it's the only way to release the constant build up of urges. I make dumb jokes to release the tension inside of me. How does one treat a friend without breaking barriers that make it just a friendship? I keep thinking he is using me to explore what it might feel like for him to have a significant other. Because me, as his closest female friend is possibly the closest thing he has to a companion.

And it's killing me.

I've chosen to go with the flow but the flow is starting to pull me under. I'm giving in slowly but surely all over again. Reading him as if he's my own story to read. Looking at him as if he'll be around me forever. Believing that he somehow, deep down inside, loves me for who I am. Sure, I'm human, I make mistakes, and I dream things that may never come true. I try to pull away from these thoughts, but they come back and truthfully..I'm used to them. I don't even know if I honestly desire more with him anymore. I just know he has become that one thing in life that I cannot have. And with that unfortunate fact, it becomes the biggest reason I even want him..

At his worst, he is distracted--and I am invisible if not an annoyance. At his best, I am the greatest person around and he compliments me, laughs with me, and hugs me. I see these two sides and yet I stick around in hopes to become a more committed individual. So I can hold onto a relationship with someone without running in fear and becoming selfish. I want to invest in it, invite him into my life like I want him there. He makes it so easy at times and I can't figure out how I actually feel.

I still ask myself why I feel the way I feel. Am I trapped? Can I escape? I'm a human, a person, a female...and I have feelings. Sometimes I wonder, when he breaks those barriers, if he's actually aware that I feel something. If I go with this flow too long, I fear I may drown.

I wish I could feel the way he felt instead when the current gets strong in this flow of friendship.

From 2014 to 2015.

It's interesting how my blog remains "A New Journey" when it really feels like every other week or month is a new journey. The constant changes and yet consistent troubles make for this "new" journey to almost be a "redo" of the past. Yet at the same time, it contains different characters, different destinations, and different outcomes. Usually. But tonight I write to simply state that after two years of considering this a "new journey," I finally feel like I've made it to the other side of the mountain and that good things have yet to come. Or shall I say...greater things have yet to come.

In the past two years, with 2013 and 2014 fulfilled, I accomplished boldness, met new people, applied to a university, bought a ticket to England, got accepted into Azusa Pacific University, got on my first plane ride, spent a month and a half in England, moved to Southern California for school, lost my dad unexpectedly, started my second semester of college, moved home for the summer, gained hope (and false hope), hid in fear, faced the fear, experienced anxiety deeply, sought help, missed three weeks of classes, dropped two classes because of it, overcame the anxiety, finished the semester, felt happy again, felt more alive and stronger, and then finished off the year with family and good food and this grand feeling inside that 2015 is going to be extremely DIFFERENT.

What does that even mean to me? Well, for starters, it means I can't guess what could happen. I've entered this new year with no expectations whatsoever. In fact, I've made no plans for the entire year except for attending school and catching up. That means considering summer school and living in Azusa for 12 full months (and possibly 12 more after that if I do summer school again). I mean, at this point, God could honestly do anything or change everything.

For the first 22 years of my life, I was barely getting to know myself, getting to know my limits and my feelings. After that, I stood up and took off. I know there will always be struggles, no matter what you do. No matter how close you are to God, or around good people, the fact that you strive for something deeper means struggles and troubles will indeed follow. It's the very evidence of the choice to dive deeper, swim faster, and get further along. A comfortable life is not a promising life. It's a life not lived--at least, that's what I believe.

Another thing that I have learned, especially in 2014, is that getting close to anyone, no matter who they are, is indeed uncomfortable and will indeed take time to get used to. It's something I have learned that might cause someone (like me) to back away. I've learned in the past year that commitment only looks and feels easier at a distance, but up close it's the scariest thing. Not scary because I wouldn't want to commit, but scary because it puts negative thoughts in my head that will pick out every bad or undesirable thing from a person and make it the reason I shouldn't get so close. And I've also learned that the world is not too keen on commitment..

Yet the most beautiful thing that came out of this is realizing that commitment is the greatest accomplishment because it means keeping your word, loving nonetheless, and making a difference in someone's life. It's even a great preparation for marriage, or simply seeking a job someday. It's the essence to living a fulfilling life. To recognize that even I keep myself at a safe distance from closeness with human beings and lack to properly invest my time and love into people helped me change my ways. It helped me truly see and accept that each person I meet will not match up perfectly with my personality. There will always be something they do that won't be perfect. But the truth is, that will always be the case with me too. I will always have something that someone else could question. This is merely because we are human beings and we make mistakes. Because of our mistakes, it means choosing to commit is key. Choosing to commit is the only way to last a lifetime with anyone--no matter what. We were made to require practicing commitment, acceptance, and love.

I am glad I have put myself on this path to really learn this. I'm glad because I no longer want to let people just slip away when I know they mean a lot. I'm glad because it helps me more openly accept when a good friend accidentally wrongs me, or hurts me. It helps me see that this will always be the case when you just know someone. When you choose to know their life, get involved, and hold that power to destroy them--it makes it more real. Knowing you have that power helps you see how very important you actually are and how big of a difference you can actually make. In fact, God has the power to destroy us all, and that's what makes His love to us greater--the fact that He chooses not to.

I can now look at myself with a much brighter and more beautiful light. To see myself still smile knowing that I've undergone some tough trials and situations in my lifetime. I can look at myself and believe that I'm a special and important human being to a big and powerful God who knows me and yet loves me. And now I can only hope that others can see that in me and that I can pass on this love that I learned. I can only hope now that I can feel more freedom in my life and actually let myself take that risk to get close to others. I hope that I can keep breaking my own walls and helping others break theirs. It's a big risk, but it's worth it. We are made to be relational because of our relational God.

So I hope that 2015 is a good motivation to gain new hope, new goals, and all the more reason to keep moving forward. No more holding back. No more walking away. No more hiding. No more running away from problems. It may take more time to overcome it all, but I'm not giving up. I want to keep taking these risks. I want to grow closer to God and to the people He gives me. I want to stop holding back the love I know is inside of me. I want to stop fearing my own emotions and feelings. I am human. I am special. And I have every right to love no matter what. I may get hurt again and again along the way, but it'll not be in vain.

Here's to 2015. A year of unexpected surprises, I'm sure of it.