Relationship is not about nobility at all

With the exception of perhaps our parents of course.

Growing up in a family where Mum and Dad had come a long way, fighting against low-income status then and non-support from their own families in order to pay a decent amount of taxes, rents, educational fees and daily household expenses in order to nurture my brothers and myself into what we are today, I can and will never question their nobility at all.

The relationship, in question, will be the one which we probably may have to battle against and move in and out of constantly until we find the right party to establish a firm one with - BGR.

How many times has one heard or said the line 'I know I don't deserve you but..'? So it seems that accepting the other party who does not 'deserve' you makes you more noble, and vice versa?

However, relationship is not about nobility or deservedness at all.

As much as everyone admires those Romeo & Juliet or Cinderella kind of love stories reeking of sacrifices and nobility for the former and fairy-tale elements (and sheer luck) for the latter, we cannot deny the simple fact that they are afterall stories and fairytales and that the world works in a more practical way and under the demand-and-supply rule.

Casting my economics background aside, let's break down into the various reasons why a couple stays together:

• Need for companionship
• Feeling of belongingness
• Having someone to tell them everything will be okay at the end of the day
• Biological calling to have a family and produce the next generation
• Having someone to make them feel special
• Having someone for them to care for, protect and channel their emotions to (note: this is to fulfill his/her own egoistic needs as well)
• Sex
• Money
• Security

Last, not least but the worst

• Retirement plans/support

The list above is not exhaustible and I am sure there are some of you out there who have another 50,000 reasons to add on. However eventually at the end of the day, when we break down these reasons, we realise these are our demands/wants/needs (depending on the intensity of the reason), and we seek to find someone who can fulfill/supply these.

Similarly, the other party has his/her own list as well. So when two people connect and check each other against their relationship wishlists and realise there is at least 80% 'yes' ticks on their own lists (depending on their 'pass' percentage), they get into a relationship and open up each other's world.

On the contrary, if the other party does not even meet the 'pass' percentage on his/her checklist, it is less than likely that he/she will accept the other party. It's like when you purchase an apartment, you have a list of criteria like the size of the flat, the number of rooms, amenities in the vicinity, safety and cleanliness of the neighbourhood, price, accessibility, etc. Sometimes you cannot find a 100% perfect ideal apartment but if the apartment is small, expensive, totally inaccessible and situated in an unsafe and absolutely dirty neighbourhood reeking from the sewage drain nearby, will you still purchase it? Well, yes if you are purchasing it to house some suicide-bombers under secret operations or as a part of the compensation for an ex-wife who is still trying to leech every cent out of you because she has filed for divorce with evidence of your infidelity. Even if so, you are still trying to satisfy your own needs to camouflage potential terrorism activity for the former and to exact sweet revenge in the latter.

As much as it brings two people to be and stay together, the same rules motivates breakups as well. People change, whether we like it or not, and very often, the change will bring on new additions or amendments in the relationship wishlist. When the other party fails to catch up with the list and falls beyond the 'pass' line, the relationship will sometimes convert into 'probation' or 'second trial' status for the stronger or luckier cases. For the less fortunate cases or those that's built on loose foundation of weak understanding, monetary reason (there is always bigger, better deals out there for people who engage into relationship for this reason) or sheer lust even when it started, it's 'adios amigo/amiga' time.

People who strongly believe in 'pure love' will probably find my opinion repulsive. But hey! There are character traits or vices in the other party to make you fall in love with him/her too! And these reasons will still fall into the demand-and-supply rule.

Admit it.