“Dear Claire, "What" and "If" are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? What if? What if? I don't know how your story ended but if what you felt then was true love, then it's never too late. If it was true then, why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart. I don't know what a love like Juliet's feels like - love to leave loved ones for, love to cross oceans for but I'd like to believe if I ever were to feel it, that I will have the courage to seize it. And, Claire, if you didn't, I hope one day that you will. All my love, Juliet"
I love the above quote from the movie “Letters to Juliet”, I think it is beautiful and the words are so inspiring. Everybody is afraid, no one likes to take a risk. When it comes to love, we are all afraid. Who wants to be rejected? The truth is, if you don’t make that first step, you will never find out “what might’ve been” and live with the regret forever. It is risk that NEEDS to be taken, it's not good for your heart to keep something like that to yourself. The weight just keeps growing and then one day, you want to burst; kick yourself for not saying anything and now it's too late.
Nobody likes to be rejected but loving someone is nothing to be ashamed of. There comes a time when we need to learn that we don't need a partner to feel good about ourselves. We have to learn about self-love and boost our own confidence. Be comfortable in your own skin, love yourself, learn to enjoy the time spent alone.
Juliets, move on from a guy who rejects you. I know you hear it all the time but it really is his loss. Think about this: All you lost is someone who doesn't love you, yet he lost someone who does loves him.
It may sound cliché, but before and above all, we have to learn to love ourselves. It is a vital component in the grand scheme of things/life - whether you are in a relationship or not.
Think of it in this sense (again, throwing in some mathematics!): let's just take the example of the saying that 'a romantic bond is the joining of two halves' ...
∴
You = 1/2
Your love = 1/2
1/2 (You) + 1/2 (Your love)= 1 <-- Uh, 'to become whole'
But if you don't learn to love yourself...
0 + 1/2 (your love)= 1/2 <-- it still isn't complete.
Of course, it isn't as simple as 1-2-3, but the point here is, when one is in love, we become another's foundation as well as they become ours; it is a 'fulfilling' mechanism - whereby by having our self-love, we fulfill the one-half of the relationship to give to our partners. Personally, I differentiate slightly between self-love and confidence: being confident does not necessarily mean self-loving; but to self-love is to also be confident.
Believe it or not, the way to this is to find your passion. Be it fashion, dancing, jogging, graphic designing, knitting, gardening, baking, etc. - when you find your passion and set your mind to it, you will find that you've opened up another world for yourself: one where you would learn to grow, develop and love yourself, for yourself, by yourself. It is such a great feeling of individuality. When this individuality comes in, your self naturally radiates self-love, self-respect and confidence; of course you would, when you have something of your own, so dear to you, that you would lose if you don't take care of yourself!
Yet, every person wants to be loved, not just in the way your significant other would love you, family and friends provide us with the love we need and deserve. Family and Friends love you differently than how a girlfriend/boyfriend would love you: When you have a girlfriend /boyfriend, you love them, care for them, you think that they are your entire world; but when you break up, then what? You stop loving them, you stop caring for them, you think that they are a waste of time. Love from family and friends are entirely different, they will always be there for you no matter what, they are the ones you can count on.
We cannot go through life alone as it would be impossible, which is why we are surrounded by family and friends. They are the most important people in your life. They are the ones who support you, and take every step with you along the way. They are there for you when you have your ups and downs. Even if you’re angry at them, no matter how hard you try to push them away, they will always stay with you and go through the toughest things in life.
Let us take a closer look what each one of us are wearing for Valentine's day.
T has matched her no brand pink dress with leopard prints to make it more interesting and sassy. The handbag is from Staccato and the wedges are from Steve Madden. T's hairdo is a ribbon made of her hair to add elegance as well.
The eye shadow and eyeliner are from MAC cosmetics.
J's look is sexy and fun with leopard prints and the bold use of red. Her top is from Tkmaxx, red jeans from river island and red tube top is from Primark. Her shiny wedges are from Steven Madden.
J's makeup is simple and focused on her red lips (Maxfactor red lip tint). Puckerup for Valentine's day!
Last but not least, K's outfit is simple but fun with the mix and match of colours. Though her dress from Forever 21 is pink, she has matched it with her blue wedges, also from Forever 21. That is afterall, her trademark: mismatch, but it works great!
This is the end of our first cycle, we hope you liked it, enjoyed it and got inspired by it! We wish you had a wonderful Valentine's day, whether you spent it alone, with your significant other, family or friends :)
♥ "It's all about how you put it together" - T, J & K.
