The idea of being in a relationship scares me. I grew in a house where my parents had fights, sometimes violent but most times quiet and tense. My sister has had a few relationships where she had to physically take a gun away from her boyfriend. My closest aunty has an on/off relationship with her boyfriend. And, the rest of my family, with the exception of one or two of my aunts and uncles, are all either single or having relationship issues.

Who’s to say that I won’t be roped into that? I still have nightmares about the fights that still happen to this day. I cower everytime I hear someone raise their voice and I retreat back to my room whenever I feel that tension. I don’t want my future spouse to go through something like that so I’d rather just stay alone.