I spent half my time loving her and the other half hiding how much I loved her.

I stopped ignoring things about people just because I was attracted to them. I learned to follow my initial gut feeling. The connection meant more to me. How I truly felt about them, not just what I saw, who they were, not what they were, was the new bar I set. What also helped me feel freer was admitting that I really didn’t want a relationship when I wasn’t ready.