I love my cousin; what should I do?

Q: I am 20 years old. I am a sincere, obedient, fun loving and emotional person. But I made the biggest mistake of my life by falling in love with my real aunt's 17 year-old daughter. She loves me too. She lives in Bombay and I live in Baroda. But no one, including our parents, know of this. We want to marry after a few years but the problem is we don't want our parents to be embarrassed; in fact we are both very scared of our parents regarding this affair. What should we do? Should we forget each other, which is next to impossible or should we fight with society, including our family? Please help us by giving your advice.

A:It is quite understandable that both of you are in love with each other and the constraints are causing a lot of pain. This is an age when most human beings tend to get attracted towards the opposite sex. The probability of this happening goes up when you have such a person in close proximity. However, it is important that before deciding upon any course of action you weigh all the consequences. Since it is quite apparent that you feel strongly about your family, you need to see how they might be affected by your decision. Also, right now you are at a point in life where you have the whole future in front of you. This relationship is just one aspect (though important) of your life. It might help to think about how you can sustain this relationship if you plan to take it ahead. Love is not the only thing in life, though it is a very important thing. Having said all of this, I would like to suggest that you give yourself some more time to think well about your decision.