Intimacy

Today I want to talk about intimacy in a relationship. Believe it or not, intimacy is extremely important. As I have mentioned before, I go to a very religious school, and a lot of things like privacy in a relationship are looked down on. Because of this, many couples get married very quickly so they can have that alone time that they both crave. I personally think it's normal and healthy to want to be alone with your partner, and if things like privacy weren't so criminalized, then there wouldn't be an issue. There also wouldn't be people getting into trouble for things that are innocent. The housing rules on-campus state that a man and a woman cannot be alone in a bedroom together even if they are related. To me, that is too strict. There have been occasions when my dad has had to come over and help me move my stuff and I have had to have a roommate be present. In my opinion, if you give people guidelines and regulations for how to act on dates, then I think it's only fair that you give them a certain amount of trust instead of treating all young adults like two rabbits that haven't seen each other in years. It's also wrong to treat family members as if they had evil intentions like that. 

But back to my main point, relationships are built upon a lot of things. Trust is the biggest one, communication is second, and in my opinion, physical communication is third. If you are in a long-term relationship, physical touch is important. I'm sorry to those who are in long-distance relationships but based on experience, it really does make a difference if they are physically there for you. As humans, we can connect more easily with each other through things like hugs, or pats on the back. It gives us gratification when we are able to touch someone we love. And I want to be very clear, intimacy does not have to mean sex or sexual activity. Intimacy can mean having a private conversation between the two of you or doing something like cuddling on the couch and having some peace and quiet. Whatever it means to be close to someone is what intimacy can be, and it doesn't have to be with a partner. It can be with close friends or family. Intimacy isn't inherently evil, the stigma of it is what has given it a bad reputation in the church.