dating at different life stages: a review 🥹💞

attended my bf’s convocation recently - boy’s now a graduate!! 🤠✨💖 i was so happy for him, but also in disbelief that time has just flown like that, and suddenly we’re both corporate slaves in the same stage of life. 🥹

to wind back the clock, we started dating when i’d just graduated, and he was entering uni. this being my first relationship, i was definitely nervous about it, and i can’t deny that being in different life stages added some concerns:

would we have common topics to talk about? were we at the same maturity level? would he find me “boring” as a working adult amidst his colourful uni life? 💭

it turned out that we would have some things to sort through - but nothing that we couldn’t work out together.

during his first semester, he was really focused on academics, and obviously i wanted him to succeed too. but this meant that unintentionally, i felt neglected and we missed some occasions like Valentine’s Day, which i realised was more important to me than i’d let myself admit.

as a conflict avoidant person, it took a lot for me to bring it up, but i knew it wouldn’t be fair to just feel hurt without communicating my emotions to him. at this early stage of our r/s, i honestly feared the worst. thankfully, his understanding reaction gave me so much relief and strengthened my confidence that he was the right person 🥹

after experiencing it for 4 years, i had some reflections on dating at different life stages 💌:

❣️ it’s important to communicate openly on busy periods, commitments, etc. and set expectations with each other

❣️ being in different life stages can add value to the r/s - it’s nice to be able to share experiences when your partner goes through those periods you’ve experienced before

❣️ ultimately, you’ll share the same future so being in different life stages temporarily won’t matter

🩷

it still feels surreal that we’re suddenly in the same life stage after a couple of years, but i’m excited to take on this new phase together 😌

other r/s posts:

💌 how to date someone with NO R/S EXPERIENCE

💌 i’m glad my bf wasn’t my type??

💌 first date green flags to look out for 👀

#relationship #relationshipadvice #RealTalk #GirlTalk #dating