I had the most incredible relationship with a man who treated me like a queen and who I just enjoyed every aspect of. We were amazing together and he consistently went above and beyond to show me how special I was to him. We had been acquaintances with chemistry for years but I was in a (bad) relationship, and when I finally got free of it I jumped too quickly into something new. Ultimately I chose to chase a dream on the other side of the country that I'd always been held back from by my ex, and while I know he would have waited and taken whatever I could give him until we could have found a way to make it work, I hated the fact that I would ultimately have to choose between my lifelong dream job/locale, and him (who had a child so he couldn't go with me). I chose me, not us, and I regret that choice so deeply that it still physically hurts sometimes 6 years later.

I have an awesome career and life here is everything I hoped it would be, and in a lot of ways I'm a very different, (and better) person for the growth I experienced pushing myself to do this by myself and for myself. I have to remind myself that if I had chosen to stay/go back I would have ended up resenting it eventually in some way - he couldn't (and shouldn't) have been everything to me to make up for the dream I would have given up. I never believed in soulmates but I've never felt that connection before or since, so I just try to appreciate that I've achieved what I wanted to, and be grateful that I have such incredibly fond memories.