A person's diary should be a private place where they can express themselves without fear of judgment from anybody else, and it goes without saying that loved ones should respect that.
Unfortunately, one young man claims to have had this very personal boundary breached, after walking in on his girlfriend leafing through his intimate diary entries.
According to the 22-year-old student, this diary contains "so much that I write that I don't ever want anyone to read", including entries about past traumas that he is still working to come to terms with.
He was therefore understandably unhappy when, after asking his girlfriend to mind his bag while he headed to the cafeteria, she chose to dig out his diary and have a good snoop through.
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Taking to Reddit, the angered boyfriend explained that his 21-year-old girlfriend has previously expressed an interest in reading his diary, however, he "strictly forbade" this, and made his feelings on the matter known.
He wrote: "My diary is a place where you will find not only me but countless other aspects of me. There is so much I write in my diary and it is not only what happens day-to-day.
"I write my fears, angers, disappointments, goals, past traumas I cannot go over with, things that I remember from my past. There is so much that I write that I don't ever want anyone to read".
A couple of days back, the poster - who goes by the udername u/Huzzy_1999 - headed to the canteen after a pathology lab class, and asked his girlfriend to hold his bag until he got back with food.
When he returned, he discovered her "lost in reading my diary", and snatched it from her there and then, furious that she hadn't respected the boundaries he had so clearly set.
He continued: "She tried to say something along the lines of 'I was just skimming through it' but I was not having any of it. I was too angry to speak.
"I stormed out of university and went straight home. I got countless apologies and calls saying that she was sorry but I was too angry to even look at any of it".
The couple now aren't speaking at all, and, when concerned friends have been asking him what exactly happened between them, he decided to tell them the truth, and received "mixed opinions".
He said: "Some friends were saying that I am the a**hole for reacting too harshly and that it was not a big deal while some friends said that I was right in my reaction as it is such a breach of trust and privacy".
One fellow Reddit user advised: "You set a clear boundary - I do not want you to read my diary. She violated this. Take this as the portent of the future it is.
"People who don't respect small boundaries (don't read my diary), don't respect large boundaries either (I said no).
"If she is willing to break your trust by reading your diary as a way to 'get to know you' rather than actually getting to know you as part of a naturally occurring relationship, she has proven she doesn't have what it takes for a mature and respectful relationship".
Another commented: "I wonder if those friends would feel the same way if they had a journal or diary and someone else that they thought they could trust read it. I doubt it.
"At the end of the day that was a massive breach of trust from your girlfriend and only you know if you can come back from this or if it's going to lead to a breakup. Good luck".
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