The Axiomatic Musings of a Teen who misplaced her rose-colored glasses. Now I gotta dust them off to put them back on.

That sounds like a good name for a song, actually. Calling dibs on that title now :P.

What is trust?
Trust is having faith in someone, believing what they tell you, and being assured at all times that they are and will be true, and be completely honest with you.

Why is trust important?
Because otherwise you simply can't believe anyone or anything.

What happens when you do trust someone?
Everything works. You're happy, there are no worries, and life is good.

What happens when you don't?
Constant, destructive stress. Every moment of the day you wonder if they're lying to you, if they're deceiving you. You listen to everything they say and then think, 'But what if they don't mean that?'

What builds trust?
Constant honesty and openness and complete truth.

What destroys it?
Deceit, lies, and any sort of hidden information can destroy trust.

Can trust be repaired?
Yes.

How? 
Apologizing and meaning it. Admitting you were wrong. Rebuilding the trust. Being overly honest. Never doing the same thing that broke the trust the first time. Constantly reassuring the person that you care about them and are doing everything you can to make this right. Constantly reassuring them you want nothing more than to earn back their trust and will do whatever it takes; then doing that. Telling the truth, the entire truth. Hiding a single thing will put you back to square one.

Then is everything as good as new?
Break a mirror. You can glue it back together perfectly, but you can still see the faint cracks. Unless you like, melted the glass back together. That might work :P.

That's a shame. Is it even worth fixing then, if it can't quite be the same?
Yes. I dare you to show me a mirror you've used regularly for a year that doesn't have a single scratch or crack. It happens. Gives it character.

How long does it usually take?
Trust can take weeks and months to completely build and only an hour or so to break. It depends on the situation and people and the bond they have.

And if the mirror is smashed beyond repair?
If picking up the broken glass gives you more cuts and pain than the happiness you get from looking into the finished mirror, then no, it is not worth it.

How do you know when it's worth it or not?
You feel it.

Is it worse to do something bad, or to lie about it?
To lie about it. If someone really cares about you, and you're completely up front about everything even if you know you screwed up, they'll probably forgive you. It's worse when they have to hear it from someone else, or they find out from snooping. Don't write it off as 'it was nothing' or 'they won't find out, it doesn't matter'. They will always find out.


Can you have a relationship without trust?
Not a very good one. Unless neither of you really care about what the other is doing. But if you care, even a little bit, and you can't trust them...it'll hurt.

Do you trust Ash?
Not entirely, not right now. But I love him and trust him enough for now that I want to give him the chance to make it right. I want to give us the chance.

How does he feel about that?
He's patient. He knows how I feel so he doesn't hold it against me when I ask to see his Facebook inbox or whatever. He wants us to work out and is trying to do everything he can.

Why did you get so upset about what happened anyway? He was just flirting, he never touched any other girl...
Because it still makes me feel like shit, and like I was being deceived. Like I'm doing everything I can to make him happy, and he's telling me he loves me, then he was going behind my back telling someone else he loves them and not me. It makes me feel like the whole thing was a lie, even if he was never serious with Regina, and only ever did really love me. It just hurt, and I felt lied to. Now it's harder for me to trust him, because now I wonder if every girl he says is "just a friend" and that it "was nothing" is actually more than that like Regina was.

Do you hate Regina?
Yes. She's the same category as Nina as far as I'm concerned. Maybe worse because the stuff Ash said to her was actually legit.

Are you completely honest with Ash?
Yes, actually. Am I a perfect girlfriend? Not by a long shot. I've done stuff that's upset him, and he told me so now I won't do it anymore. But I tell him everything. I can't bear to lie to him or keep anything from him. Except, of course, his awesome anniversary present. I can keep that a surprise ;).

Have you ever been a part of a conversation anything like Ash and Regina's ones with someone other than Ash since you've been dating?
No. I've gone to the movies with Devon though, and even though it was obviously just as friends and nothing SLIGHTLY romantic occurred, Ash still wasn't too cool with it. So I know that now, the way he knows that I'm not very cool with him talking to other girls and saying they're pretty at 1am.

So then what's going on with you and Ash. Straight up.
We had an issue but we worked through it. Neither one of us is perfect but we love each other so we can work past each other's mistakes. We're going to stay together and we're going to be very happy. [Hopefully] No other girl is going to get in the way of that, Ash is going to try and be sensitive and not do anything that he knows would upset me. If that doesn't happen...well, I'm not allowing myself to think negatively for the moment or I'll drive myself bonkers. Okay? So please don't ask further questions. I just want to forget this all happened.

♪: "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem, ft. Rihanna
♫: "Be Good To Me" by Ashley Tisdale
♪♫: "We Are The Few" by Streetlight Manifesto. Because yeah, all either of us knows now is that we gotta do something right.