Millie Watson: Love Exists

Millie Watson shares her triumphs and struggles finding love.

Love exists. I know it. My obsession with love has never been a secret. I’ve always dreamed and read about iconic love stories. When people called me a “hopeless romantic” I embraced it. I didn’t know that it would also embody my greatest fear: never finding love.

My brother’s wedding was pivotal in contributing to my dreams. Waiting for my brother and his new wife to join their guests was a moment filled with excitement. When they finally came out, hand in hand, his tailored suit, her pure, piercing white dress, and their unrestrained smiles, it felt like magic as everyone cheered.

“This is what love looks like,” I thought, watching everyone’s merriment. It’s grand and vibrant. Later, however, fear arose. I began to realize how unrealistic and naive my vision of love was. I started to wonder if my dreams would ever become reality. Would I ever find love or would expectations be my downfall? Having fallen in love before and faced heartbreak worsened these fears.

Love was looking nothing like how I imagined, so much so that I couldn’t even recognize it when it was right in front of me. The hopeless part of “hopeless romantic” was feeling too real. Then I remembered what it took for my brother and his wife to reach the day of their wedding.

Their love took time. They didn’t “fall” in love suddenly; they walked into it, slowly and intentionally. And it didn’t always look like grand gestures and perfect white weddings. It was found in small, shared moments of joy, sadness and even anger. I realized I had experienced those moments, in fact they were everywhere, I only needed to wait a little longer to get all the way to love.

And so, while I still feel like a “hopeless romantic,” I’ve learned to never let go of hope because no matter what, like those small moments, it’s everywhere. Love exists and I’ll have it someday. I know it. With a perspective, I’m Millie Watson.

Millie Watson is a Junior at Angelo Rodriguez High School. Millie’s Perspective was produced for KQED’s Youth Takeover. Hear more stories like this one at KQED.org/youthtakeover.