I used to see our differences as beautiful because I was learning about her and it made me vocalize areas we could improve throughout our time together. This is my second long term relationship since my high school sweetheart.

I know that she loves me in the sense that she finds me physically attractive, she appreciates my insight, and willingness to protect her. We are both creatives in different arts. She draws, I play guitar.

I started to notice that she didn’t seem to care when I played music/sang/performed. At first I was confused, I always praised her talent for visual arts and I tell my friends about it. Music is so important to me on so many levels. It’s not just enjoyment, my lifestyle revolves around it. I noticed one day I showed my friend a song I absolutely loved and they were just telling me how wonderful of a song it was and how it represented my personality. My girlfriend just couldn’t care less.

I noticed that when I was with her friends, I felt immediately like an outcast. Nobody, including my girlfriend, acknowledged me in conversations when they were there. I felt alone which turned into resentment because I felt like I was wasting my time.

My family started to make me feel like shit for being with her because I was raised Christian. She has tattoos, wants to become a tattoo artist, and my family has a history of being ignorant to her race.

We moved in together about six months ago and I feel like I am doing more than my fair share. She produces a significantly larger amount of laundry and dishes than I do which makes the burden harder.

How am I supposed to keep this going when I just graduated from university so I don’t have a job. I want to be in a relationship that appreciates my passions in life. I want to share what I value such as friendships, music arts, my ideas for how to succeed in life as I am a very competitive business guy. I have pitched multiple business ideas to her and she has explained how they aren’t feasible in a way that doesn’t let me improve the idea. It just makes me feel like the longer I am here, the more I am squandering my life.