When you picture a relationship, you may think of holding hands with your partner, going on fun dinner dates, and spending your weekends together partying, road tripping, or picnicking at the park. All these things are enjoyable parts of dating and really help couples to get to know each other, but real growth takes a little more struggle. Relationships can't be all smooth sailing; if you want to conquer the ocean together, you have to face some waves. These waves don't have to be serious, it's just that, sometimes, things don't fall into place or go as expected, and that's when we show our true selves.

There are things that happen in every relationship, despite your best efforts to avoid them. For example, the first time you drink too much and they have to carry you home and watch you puke your guts out, your first time being really sick — I'm not talking about a case of the sniffles, the first time you hurt their feelings by accident or even on purpose. All these things are ugly and we wish they didn't happen, but they will.

The times you and your partner learn about each other without realizing it is like the eggs in a baking recipe. Most baked goods don't taste like egg at all. It's hard to see why they are important unless you think about how the recipe would be without them. Eggs are a binding agent. The eggs in my relationship have been learning that he and I are horrible study buddies, and not because we are having too much fun. Or when we went on our first road trip and we couldn't agree on what to listen to. There were eggs when one of us had to provide comfort for the other in their failures, especially when those failures were well-earned. I think the eggy bits are the sweetest parts because even though you're unaware of it, the bond between the two of you is becoming stronger. Cracking an egg can seem like a bad thing until you realize why you're cracking it.

Every time you're crazy bored with your partner, every time you get into a stupid disagreement, every time you embarrass yourself in front of them or they embarrass you, you're just learning more about each other. You're adding the eggs in your relationship. These moments provide us with something concrete to fall back on because they are real life.