After several years of being contently single, I have met the most amazing man. He is smart, career driven, attentive, and we have a ton in common. While our relationship is new, and we aren’t rushing into anything, I feel that there is potential for something serious to develop. There’s just one problem — I’m white and he’s black, and while it doesn’t bother me in the least, my family is very conservative and they don’t believe in interracial dating. I am from a small town in a southern state and interracial dating is fairly uncommon here, and there are still prejudices about such things. I know that my family would adore him as much as I do if they could only look past his skin color and see him for the amazing person he is. The problem is that I don’t think that they will ever be able to do that. I feel torn between pursuing a relationship which I think could be serious, and pleasing my family. There is a possibility that some members of my family will never speak to me again, but I’m afraid that if I don’t give him a chance I may always wonder what could’ve been. I know that it’s a little early in the game for me to be thinking of choosing between a man and my family, but I am stressed out thinking about how to break the news to them. I could use any advice about how to tell them or how to know if a relationship is worth disappointing my family. — Stressed Out and Color Blind
