Where We Belong

by Emily Giffin

He was a symbol of independence and possibility. The ultimate fantasy.

The feeling of leaving, even when you don’t want to. The feeling that sometimes things just can’t be fixed.

A feeling that I know so little about the world. And maybe the tiniest bit of excitement that there are real possibilities in life, too.

it’s impossible to argue with Belinda, not because she’s particularly good at it, but because she’s so bad at it—that there is no common ground to work from. She simply sees the world the way she wants to see it and no amount of logic can change her mind.

Things are what they are and there’s no point dwelling in the past or wondering what could have been.”

Look on the bright side. Be grateful for what you have. Count your blessings. Optimism is the foundation of courage.

I desperately want to feel that way again. To be in a relationship that I’m not trying to script or water down. It’s about wanting something real—even if it’s messy and complicated.

I’ve often let my goals supersede the journey—and the love of what I’m doing. A constant battle to stay in control, get to the next level, ensure that my life stays perfectly, carefully scripted.

and then realize it’s not Peter I miss, but the idea of what I once thought we shared.