April 28, 2025
by Emily J. Wright

Lately, I’ve been struggling with this gnawing thought—Will I ever experience true love? I know it sounds dramatic, but it’s been on my mind more than I’d like to admit. I think I’ve become so jaded by past experiences that the idea of finding someone who I can genuinely trust for the long haul feels like a distant fantasy. Every relationship I’ve been in has had a shelf life, and each time it ends, I find myself thinking the same thing: Nothing lasts forever.

It’s almost like I’ve conditioned myself to expect love to fade away eventually. Even when I meet someone who seems great and everything feels right, there’s this voice in the back of my mind whispering, It won’t last. It’s like I can’t allow myself to fully trust in something that could potentially hurt me, or worse, leave me questioning everything.

I guess I just don’t know how to trust eternity with someone anymore. The idea of forever feels so fragile. I look around at couples who seem so in sync and wonder how they’ve managed to hold on to each other for so long. What’s their secret? How do they trust that something so precious won’t slip away?

I often wonder if my fear of it all ending is holding me back from something real. Maybe I’m so busy preparing myself for the end that I’m not fully embracing the present. After all, nothing lasts forever, right?

But then again, I think about the moments I’ve shared with the people I’ve loved. Maybe it’s not about waiting for forever. Maybe it’s about enjoying the love we have for as long as it lasts, trusting that the connection we build can be beautiful, even if it’s not “forever.”

I don’t know what the future holds, but I guess I’m learning to take things one step at a time. And maybe, just maybe, love doesn’t need to last forever to be real.