well i have been with my girlfriend for a little while now and things have always gone pretty well for the most part... we had our rocky moments like any relationship but we have always done pretty well... we have our differences but ive loved her the whole way through. the subject or marriage has come up on numerous occasions, and our lives together have been planned for the next 10 years. but lately our differences have become much more apparent to me. the more i think about it, the more i realize we are just two completely different people who want two completely different things in life. i was originally planning a 2010 thru but she is part of the reason i didnt go. the more i talked about my hiking plans, the more she rejected the idea... eversince i didnt go on my 2010 thru, it has been eating me alive... so i made plans for a 2011 thru. when i made these plans known there was a tension that was created between us and it brought out all our differences and forced us to face them instead of just pushing them off to the side like we had been this whole time... basically there was an unspoken ultimatum... stay with her so she will be happy, or go on the hike and we both go our separate ways... man, i sure am gonna miss her.