WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Growing up I've had a kinda rough start on the issue of relationships, starting with my first relationship who was with an older lady. Although she was my classmate, she was two years older while I was the youngest in my class. She didn't seem to care, but I cared then. It was my first relationship which by the way I entered out of peer pressure, so I wasn't really sure what I wanted in a relationship. I liked her, but that was just it. Being so young and imagining a life with this lady that was way more mature than I was. Not just in age, but in mind as well. I would say at a point I got jealous because I was used to always being the smartest guy around and there came this lady making me want to always step up. If I should meet her today (assuming we hadn't met then) I probably would have loved her for it, but as a young boy, I saw it as a threat.

My second relationship was almost similar except that it wasn't out of peer pressure but because I didn't know how to handle being someone's crush. Although I feel in love afterwards, it was too late and she was some months older than me. My third relationship didn't ended due to my maturity with a lady 7 years older than me. These relationships all happened within the first five years of being a man, and it took me another 5 years to recover, learn and start anew. Except that this time it was as though karma came knocking at the door. But if there's anything I learned is that truly speaking love knows no age, it is also not blind, it only chooses what to see.

I know this because all the older ladies that fell in love with me then had one thing that they loved me for, it wasn't so much a big deal, it only meant they chose to overlook my immaturity and love me regardless. This I think goes both ways with both male and females and each time the older person has created a safe haven for that younger person. Today if I was going into a relationship with an older person, I wouldn't mind at all, so long we both are committed to making it work. My sister however has an opposite opinion to this as she prefers older guys… when I say older guys I mean she would prefer a 10 to 15 years gap with the man taking the lead and wouldn't even consider it for the lady.

For me I think the highest age gap I can personally condole is 10 years with any gender taking the lead. I do not believe a marriage longevity is based on age factor, in fact I would say if anyone is having issues based on age in a relationship it's because they choose to consider the age and have never really loved the person they claim to love. Probably they got into the relationship for something they could gain and now they are realizing that what they went for is not all to life. If I should put things into consideration when choosing a partner and you see me putting age, it's not just because there's something wrong with the age, it's because I see the age already as a threat, not because the age itself is a threat, it's just what I see… and just like me, I feel this is what a lot of people see and I think there are those who would have a beautiful relationship if they just decide to no longer accept age as a relationship factor.

ALL PICTURES ARE MINE

THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 125 EPISODE 1