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Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider Youth devider Defying the idea of fate when it comes to love

Defying the idea of fate when it comes to love

Loving with true intention

Published May 1, 2026 11:20 pm
Elysa Karrel Roces
Elysa Karrel Roces
By Elysa Karrel Roces, 17
Ateneo de Manila University
I had never been one to believe in fate. Sure, one small, seemingly irrelevant action could take me to places I wouldn’t have gotten to see without some feeling of divine intervention. But for what others called destiny, I saw reason.
I did this and this and this, and this happened because another event happened, and logically, it made sense. In the grand scheme of the universe, while I believe there is a higher power that wills humanity into existence, I couldn’t say the same for the relationships I’ve formed with my people. I met my friends because of proximity, and no authority stated we had to be friends as if our lives depended on it. We became friends simply because we wanted to.
For love, I feel the same.
We often place so much emphasis on fate and destiny—finding your other half, and without your half, you could never become whole. We yearn for another reason to feel we’re a part of something out of this world. Soulmates are deeply embedded in the stories we consume. It’s oddly romantic how you’re destined to find this person in every lifetime because there’s this pull that draws you together, no matter where you are.
And while it’s an appealing thought, I don’t believe it’s true.
Loving with true intention
Loving with true intention
I don’t believe I found you because some god in the sky said it was time for our paths to cross. I don’t believe that all my actions led me to you because they could have just as easily led me anywhere else. What I do believe is this: I met you through circumstance, and I continuously decide to be a part of your life. I willed loving you into my own existence.
We show up for each other in difficult times and reap the happiness of true understanding. I stand by you, not because it was written in the stars, but because I cannot imagine my heart belonging to anyone else. I consciously choose to love and adore you, and I plan to do so for as long as my soul lets me. I met you, and I’m forever grateful I did.
There is no need to yearn for something supernatural to validate our love. The mere idea of a person choosing you, even when they don’t have to, is special enough in itself. I love you, not out of chance or coincidence; I love you with true intention.
Elysa Karrel Roces, 17, is a student of Diplomacy and International Relations at Ateneo de Manila University.
“Voices” is Manila Bulletin Lifestyle’s dedicated space for young writers and future journalists to speak up about the topics that matter to their generation—from pop culture and social trends to education, and everything in between.
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