Perfectly Imperfect
By Avery Khuan
“You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.” ― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper
There is always a misconception that love is always perfect. Movies and books the perfect man finding the perfect love of his love and vice versa. When we first met Si Jian and Michelle and learnt of their story (they met each other at an interview and she got the job!), it seemed like fairytale come true.
But as they spoke their vows to each other under the bright blue sky, surrounded by their friends and family, we are reminded again that the most beautiful relationships are hard work; they are forged from mettle and resilience, tolerance and patience and expecting perfection while falling in love with imperfections.
Being separated by time and distance, Si Jian and Michelle built their relationship through an orchestra of FaceTime calls, texts, phone calls, you name it. But long before they kept the spark in their flame alive, Si Jian had already fallen in love with Michelle, finding the charming in her imperfect as he recalls fondly of "the enormous chili flake that you had on your front tooth throughout our chili pan mee lunch date" and her perfect way of unconditionally loving not just Si Jian but everyone around her. Michelle, on the other hand, an avid reader of romance novels had found her prince charming in his less than perfect packaging who keeps up with her in the most perfect way, from cheering her on in her many creative pursuits to forehead kisses in the morning as he leaves for work.
In Si Jian and Michelle, we are reminded that the greatest of loves are made: they don't happen out of the blue, they are fought for, they are broken down and built back up and most of all, they are strengthened by finding perfections in the imperfections.
