A Relationship Survival Kit
I need a relationship survival kit. I need items that will help me protect, grow, recognize, and benefit
from my relationships. As Ahmed claimed in her discussion of survival “survival can also be about
keeping one’s hopes alive” (Ahmed 235). Each of these items will help me hope and, in turn, survival in
my relationships.
I.
Conversation: I am notoriously bad at having difficult conversations or communicating with
people in general. By putting conversation in my survival kit, I am myself to value the power of
conversation.
II.
Feelings: Like Ahmed I chose to put feelings in my kit because feelings can either fuel the fire or
cause a burnout (Ahmed 246). Putting feelings in this kit means the anyone’s feelings, good and
bad, are valid.
III.
Physical Items: I have always been one to find happiness and relief form little things that put a
smile on my face. Some of these include The Princess Bride franchise, sunflowers, books,
animals, and memories. These items are for me to share with others, hold close when I need
comfort, or learn from when I need guidance.
IV.
Trust: I not only need to be able to trust my own judgement, but that of others. For a
relationship with me to be successful I need to be able to trust that someone has my back, and
they need to trust that I have theirs.
V.
Independence: I need a partner or a friend to understand that I need to have my space to grow
as an individual while we grow together. I also need to be able to rely on the fact that we are
being truthful and trustworthy of each other.