Ethan and I live in Trinidad, a small island where people of different races, religions, and cultural backgrounds live side by side.
Our paths crossed when Ethan transferred to my school. He noticed me because I always slept during classes. Once we started talking, we clicked. Our relationship soon became serious, and we knew that we'd have to tell our parents.
My parents disapproved of Ethan because of his race. Ethan's parents disapproved of me because of my religion. I knew that I loved him, so I tried to convince my parents to allow the relationship. But instead, they took my phone away and gave me no privacy. So, we hid our relationship for a year and lied to his parents about my religion (with my consent). I often tried to break it off with Ethan because I couldn't bear the idea of my family hurting him. I knew he deserved better.
We struggled, and there were many times we were disappointed. Ethan always felt as if I got hurt the most, but I knew that he felt the brunt of it deep down, and to me, it was selfish to put him through this.
After hiding for almost two years, I eventually told my father. Surprisingly, he accepted it with open arms. He apologized for the way he first reacted. Today, he and Ethan have a great relationship.
As for Ethan's parents, they still don't know that I'm Hindu, but we plan on telling them eventually. Some people don't believe that our relationship will last because we're young, but it's for this reason we should continue to fight the stigma. Ethan's my first love, and I always made sure that he knew that his race, skin color, and identity mattered, and I'm so happy that I stood up against everyone and stayed true to my love.
Often, people say that religion and race don't matter, only love; but they should matter because everyone should be accepted wholeheartedly for who they are. Ethan deserves all the love and warmth in the world, and I would never let any family member or stranger stop me from giving him that.
📖: @amithelight