I always felt safe in my home, however I never felt safe when it came to discussing my relationships. My father hated my first boyfriend and ultimately forced us to break up. I was angry for a long time and didnt talk to him for about a year (other than casual hello and how are yous). Ultimately the guy ended up cheating on me and my father was right…so that brought on a slew of confusing emotions.

My dad was never satisfied with the people I dated and him questioning them always made me question them…because he was right every single time. I was always afraid to talk to him about relationship problems because I was scared he would advise me to end them and then I wouldnt be able to get it out of my head. I wasnt able to make my own choices anymore. More my fault than his, I know. I spoke to him about it earlier this year and he has become significantly more supportive, only offering advise when I ask for it.

In terms of my mother – shes lovely and supportive, however she taught me that love means consumption. If I didnt cancel all of my plans to do something she wanted, I didnt love my family. So in my relationships..I acted this way. I let the guys consume me and did whatever they wanted.

Its not that way with my current boyfriend. I changed the way I acted, and he is a very open, accepting individual. We are happy doing things together and separately. We have our own hobbies and friends, but we also have mutual hobbies and friends.