I’ve been dating my boyfriend for over a year now, but there’s been something holding him back from feeling fully committed. We’re both still plagued by the question of, “What are we, exactly?” and it’s been hard to articulate how I feel in a way that will make our relationship concrete. That’s why I used his passion for March madness and put my feelings into a bracket to help him define our relationship and see where I fit into his life.
In the past, I discussed our relationships in terms that were foreign to him. I’d throw around words like “commitment” and “our future together.” It was very disorienting to him to speak in such abstract terms, without a clear path to victory. So I just filled out a bracket and gave it to him with a blank one to fill out on his own, and now we understand each other so much better.
I knew if I wanted to get through to him, I had to find a way to speak his language. That’s why I put together a relationship bracket to help us narrow down the conversation. I broke potential relationship goals down into teams, pitting first seeds like “This Is Fun” against 16th seeds like “I’m Ready To Move In Together.”
After an expected loss last night, tonight we will see how a match-up between “I Love You” and “This Is Fun” plays out. I’m pumped!
My overall bracket predictions favor “I’m Ready to Take things to the Next Level,” and “Let’s do Christmas Together,” but my boyfriend doesn’t think they’re having a good year. He favors an overall win for “Let’s Just See Where this Goes,” and his second pick is “…” I’m gonna press him on that one because “…” is not an acceptable answer.
Sports are so fun! I can’t believe “Maybe We Should Take a Break” is still in it though. What a shocker. Fingers crossed they don’t make it to the final four.
Despite the odds, I was holding out hope for “Let’s Just Get Married,” but my boyfriend assures me they haven’t made it to the semifinals in years. He also says my bracket is “busted.” Sometimes I just don’t get sports! Anyways, wish me luck. I think I’m finally getting him to put some labels on this relationship!
