Self-love entails acceptance and compassion towards yourself: you begin to acknowledge that your experiences are valid and important.
All in Personal
untouchable
It’s taken time to untangle these synonyms.
I’m here, I’m queer and so is the existential fear
According to my parents, it was too much reading on the internet that has tricked me into thinking I fit into this uncommon label.
Check the Box for "Human"
I am here to tell a story about how societal expectations tricked me into believing that I was ultimately broken or deviant, until I was given the opportunity to rise out of those definitions.
All to myself
I figured I’d grow into it one day, or at least that’s what the world tried to tell me would happen.
The Undone and the Divine
No word is adequate, not “lover” nor “partner,” not “friend” nor “comrade.”
Girlfriend For Sale
The prospect of dating has never even crossed your mind, and now you’re a “girlfriend for sale.”
Grey
Just because I’m asexual doesn’t mean I escape this body, its consequence and expectation.
The words you didn't have yet
You learn new words and labels that you relate to. You find that other people think the way you do.
That's not it
After I tell you what I mean by ‘aromantic’, you have your arms around me.
Romantic Machinations
It’s fair to say the machinations of romance elude my understanding and feel undoubtedly non-applicable to me.
Hopeless Aromantic
It blows my mind that someone would have that type of attraction to me because I would never have that type of attraction to them.
The Friendzone in Fandom
There are a wide variety of aro experiences, and there are many aro fans who enjoy reading shippy and/or romance-focused fanworks.
A Letter to M
I’m in love with you. And you don’t have to be alarmed at me saying this because you know what I mean.
Seven Steps
You are excited, you tell yourself, because you're in love.
growing up aromantic
i don’t get it. logically, conceptually, i understand it.
To reclaim simplicity
I didn’t make it complicated, someone else decided that simple things did not include me.
"love with no body"
And yet, at the same time, wanting it didn’t involve my body. No physical desire to speak of. It was never a necessary component. I just wanted to be close.
Leaving Manhood
However, since I lacked the language to explain my desires, I felt shame for not having those experiences. Because having sexual and romantic relationships proves one’s masculinity to others, I never felt accomplished as a person.