Hobbies/habits/etc.
Most of my music tastes came from one of my exes.
I used to overthink travel to the point where I just wouldn’t do it, and had never left my country. My ex just used to see a deal online, book it for 6 months in the future regardless of cost or details, and work it out later. I used to have meltdowns. But with her, I visited 5 countries on 2 continents.
It’s been 7 years since we split and I’ve continued on on with her carefree style of organising travel. I just see shit, throw it on the credit card, and make my life align to it. I’ve since visited another 7 countries across 3 more continents.
I got better at relationships. Thanks exes!
Things I learned from my first girlfriend included “vegetarian lasagna can be tasty”. We made it with chopped-up broccoli bits instead of ground beef, and it was pretty damn good.
Hear me out… use tofu instead of ricotta. I’m not even slightly vegan and I come from an Italian American family that takes lasagna seriously but I made it for my vegetarian ex and it was delicious.
Hmm, I like ricotta, but vegans can also enjoy my favorite lasagna variation: take a few plain ordinary button mushrooms, shred them with a cheese grater, and sprinkle mushroom shreds on top of the lasagna before baking.
I like to boil a handful of grass clippings and sprinkle a little gravel in for texture!
I disagree with this so hard. I love tofu but absolutely hate it as a substitute for cheese. Would just taste soybeans. So disappointing when it’s subbed for paneer in the spinach paneer especially.
I can’t make a lasagna without cheese, but do routinely make food for vegan relatives, for parties and holidays I try to make “their” food more appealing than the meat dishes, absolutely would not attempt a lasagna. Cheese cheese cheese is lasagna to me. Doesn’t need meat at all but cheese oh yes.
So goddamn much. I truly believe every time you love someone you grow as a person. And I wouldn’t be half the man I am today without those exes.
I’m positive I hate them for what they did to me and our kids. Every so often, when I feel myself slowing down a little bit or becoming complacent at what I’ve built in the wake of her destruction, I pull out that little coal of fury and blow it back into a roaring fire that propels me forward into the future and lights the way for my kids toward a better path than what I walked.
Curry dishes, more self confidence, differences in political opinions resulted in my opinions on things being more nuanced and complex. Dating helped me figure out what I wanted and wouldnt put up with.
A more positive self-image and confidence.
How to be a strong ally and advocate, even when it conflicts with personal feelings.
Despite her feelings towards me, she remains a strong ally
I was taught the importance of using a daily moisturizer with an SPF. As a fair skin individual it feels like my face has stopped aging drastically since it became a routine.
Convinced me to not be bitter towards women.
Got my love and understanding of the Humanities from an ex.
Positive things were almost all either realizing things about me that I felt needed to be improved for when I had a new partner, or things about my next partner that I would want or not want. I sometimes wish that I’d met my wife sooner in life, but then I realize it wouldn’t have worked out because of how much of a mess I was.
I have an ex who basically changed me from an older version of my teenage self to some sort of functional adult.
From my first ex I learned to not be a toxic asshole and to be a better person overall. From my second ex I learned to not be an incel lmao. She taught me about feminism and changed my view entirely. And also introduced me to the amazing world of vegetarian diets!
I learned that I would be a very different person without them passing through my life