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"After having a perfect Valentine&amp;#039;s Day with my boyfriend (check out last week&amp;#039;s blog), Troy went above and beyond again two days later on my birthday. He surprised me with a romantic horseback riding adventure and a yummy picnic. Being showered with so much love this month made me grateful that Troy and I have such a strong bond, even though it isn&amp;#039;t always easy. I&amp;#039;m black and Troy&amp;#039;s white and being in a bi-racial relationship has been surprisingly challenging. Even though I live in a big city, sometimes people stare at Troy and me when we hold hands or kiss in public. We get all kinds of looks, from disapproval to jealousy! It can be frustrating when all Troy and I want to do is go to the movies and it feels like all eyes are on us. But even though Troy and I deal with people staring at us on a regular basis, nothing prepared us for a Tumblr incident that happened on New Year&amp;#039;s. Troy is an actor, and when a picture of us kissing ended up on the Internet, he received tons of tweets from his fans about it. We unintentionally became the poster couple for bi-racial dating! Some people were supportive, but others said they were completely disgusted. Neither one of us was used to that sort of attention. I was so tempted to respond to every single one of those negative comments, but instead I talked through my anger with Troy. Telling each other how we feel really helps! Despite the unwanted attention, being with Troy is totally worth it. He is my best friend and that unbreakable foundation has kept us together through the good and the bad. We are not defined by our race. Troy is a blond musician whose style icon is Lenny Kravitz, while I am a dramatic and savvy fashionista who loves Tyra Banks. He educates me about Bruce Springsteen and I introduce him to Lauryn Hill&amp;#039;s poetic lyrics. Yes, we are different. Troy may never understand what I mean by &amp;quot;wash day&amp;quot; when I&amp;#039;m talking about my hair. But loving each other for our differences and talking about anything that bothers us keeps our relationship strong. Brooklyn Follow Brooklyn&amp;#039;s dating blog every Thursday at seventeen.com/love. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/love/dating-advice/a28485/bi-racial-relationship/>