Every Time I Close My Eyes

I’ve had this blog for about four months now and I have tried to keep the Beyonce mentality: keep your private life private. (Remember Jay-Z?) But at the same time, I like to share my life with all of you; I think it makes me more real as an author and a more relatable person in general. Being open teaches me to be honest about who I am—both to all of you and to myself. Of course, I realize that people can make their own judgments and develop their own opinions but having this blog has taught me to write about what I care about and to say what I mean. It is what it is.

And so I think it’s important to finally admit, maybe most importantly to myself, that I am in love. Because I think love has such a fundamental effect on our happiness, I feel like I have to acknowledge it. Of course, I believe that ultimately you develop your own happiness, but I also believe that the people in our lives can very much detract or add a great deal of happiness to our lives. And for a long time now, but especially in the past few months, there has been a person that has added so much happiness to my life that I can’t even begin to describe.

He makes writing this blog so easy for me because he makes me so unbelievably happy every day. He makes me want to love others more selflessly, to never judge, and to always give someone a chance. He makes me want to learn; he’s so incredibly smart but in the humblest way possible. I feel his love in the best way; never overbearing, never absent, instead it is always right there to catch me. Every little thing about him makes me smile; the grasp of his hand, the look in his eyes, and the tenderness in his touch.

It’s amazing to me how two complete strangers can come together from separate worlds but now he is fully a part of my world and I in his for this time in our lives. We’ve taken our time but now it’s time for me to just be fearless. I believe that when you’re in love, you should say so, and so I am. It’s a part of who I am now—an integral part—and I’m happy to admit that.

I love you.

Keep shining,

The Sunny Girl, Lauren Cook