When we stay, we see things for what they are when the feelings are gone. Without the hype of our emotions and the spontaneity of living in those little moments, we can review what happened. Perhaps you fell in love with a list of quirks rendered void when you realized you haven’t broken down all his walls. Perhaps you happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, being the only one online at 2am when he needed to vent. Perhaps you lingered in his arms because you’ve never known any other refuge. Perhaps you stayed just for the sake of staying. And yet, we find a silver lining in the regrets and memories. We see the bad, we see the mistakes, but we also see the good that came out of the bad. We find beauty. This, is my story. I stayed to get to know him. I stayed to prove myself to him. I stayed to let him come along. Those were my reasons. I stayed even when he was gone. I stayed because I was lost. I stayed to learn from it all. Those were my experiences. I believe I didn’t waste my stay because most importantly, I learned. My worth is not dependent upon his ability to see it; someone will stay for who I am, someday. It is not the time to dwell on romance, because now, life is rushing me into great things that can only be accomplished in my youth; now is the time for us to stay, see the beauty of the world around us, see it from new perspectives, and see how we can make it better. To stay, in a way, is to go; to go to a place no one goes to anymore, to go when everyone else has moved on. Staying is dwelling on things past. It is seeing things for what they are when the hype has died down. But one day, we will remember our reasons and no longer find meaning in them. Suddenly, they only become the reasons why we stayed, and we are free to go to places no one has ever been.