Love and Relationship Ethos: Fin, Part 2

The Gifts
If you haven't read part one, click here first!

When MJ and I spoke on the phone for the last time, I cried. All I could think about was the expiry of something I had known for so long. Sure, he and I have had break-ups before. But I don't think I can honestly say that we've broken up, until now, of course. So as a sat there trying to listen but only hearing what he was saying, I couldn't help but to get emotional.

Looking back, I don't think facing the fact that we weren't getting back together is the reason that I cried. I cried because, and don't judge me on this, I knew everything would be okay. I knew, and know, that we will find someway to fit roles in each other's lives. I guess it triggered something in me because it was clear that what I wanted not only wouldn't be, but didn't have to be for both of us to be happy.

After we hung up the phone, I pulled out the pandora bracelet he gave me for Christmas this year. There are three charms on it: a textbook, an owl, and a heart with a lock and key. When he first gave me the bracelet, the charms made perfect sense: A textbook with an owl on the back because I'm in school, an owl because I'm a Temple Owl, and a heart with lock and key because we had each other's hearts. But now, the charms combined to me, revealing new meaning that I might have never realized had we not broken up.

For starters, the textbook charm. On the one side of it, it says study. On the other, there is an owl wearing a graduation hat. What is one of my biggest stresses? The cost of school. One of my biggest fears? That I won't graduate from Temple because of financial restrictions. So what did he leave me? A reminder that I am a Temple Owl, and as long as I want to, I will graduate as one. Also reiterated in the owl charm.

Lastly, the heart with lock and key. I feel like this one may have more meanings than I can grasp right now, but so far the message seems plain and simple: guard your heart. Not just against possible relationships (plutonic or otherwise), but against everything. 

Instead of looking at the bracelet as a painful memory of what was, I'm going to wear it as I did before the break up; as a reminder of what is. Let's just say, he knows me well.