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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

(Yep this one is pretty sappy, but you’re gonna’ read it and like it!)

I’ve lived with this woman for quite a while now. She showed me how to care, allowed me to be different, and appreciate the little things, but I hated her. I hated the way she looked. How she let people treat her. How lumpy she was. I loved spending my down time fantasizing about leaving her, often equating my level of happiness with the distance away. But something happened. I wasn’t paying attention and it happened. I was falling in love. I became more intrigued at how this woman treated the people she loved and I discovered how beautiful she really was.

I was in awe, and at night when she came alive, I was floored. She breathed differently, moved differently and it was wonderful.

I don’t know what to do now. I’ve worked so hard to make my dreams of leaving her come true, but now I know it won’t be as easy as I thought. I love her too much.

Her name? Jackson.

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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.