In high school our relationships were ultimately left up to the approval of our parents. If my mom didn't like a guy I had to kick him to the curb just like that. In college we are given the freedom to hang out with, date and (uh oh she's going to say it) hook up with whoever we want to.

This newfound freedom is exhilarating at first until we take a step back and realize that we aren't exactly choosing as wisely as we should.

As much as we don't want to admit it we are unstable. We are juggling class, work, friends and a social life. Naturally, we think that scooping up a boyfriend along the way will give us some stability in our lives. The problem with this is that we are so quick to try to find that stability that we end up settling for less than perfect.

We need to stop settling for attractive.

He may physically be the dream guy, but what does he have to offer you? Is he emotionally supportive? Does he have goals and aspirations? Sure he might look great plastered all over your Instagram, chances are the hunky dude that you matched with on Tinder, and later saw flexing in the mirror at the gym, isn't your prince charming.

We need to stop settling for lust.

In the heat of the moment you may love him, but what about the other ninety-something percent of the time? If you spend the majority of your time thinking about the next time you'll be alone with him you may not be with him for the right reasons. Hint: if he's constantly trying to get you to engage in intimacy, chances are he isn't "the one" anyway.

We need to stop settling for popularity.

He may be the life of the party, he may be the president of his fraternity, hell he may know more people than you, but if he doesn't give you the time and love that you deserve the relationship isn't worth it. Let me guess, instead of staying in with you he repeatedly chooses to go the bars with the guys?

We need to stop settling for the "talking" stage.

Too many great girls have fallen victim to the "talking" stage. You meet a guy, you hangout for a while and somehow you weasel yourself into the in-between stages of friendship and relationship. How do you get out? Well, you simply have the "what are we?" talk. I say simply very, very sarcastically. We all know that that talk goes one of two ways. You either walk out of the conversation with a boyfriend to call your very own... or you end up crying on your best friends couch, drunk, watching re-runs of Jersey Shore.

We need to stop settling for d-bags.

You all know what a d-bag is. If you don't know what I am referring to, you most likely don't fit into the demographic of people who should be reading this article. We need to stop settling for dudes that make us feel like lesser of a person. If the man that you're with doesn't make you feel like a princess kick his butt to the curb. I'm not saying he needs to spend all his time and money on you, but if the only time that you spend with him consists of him drooling over you like a piece of meat you need to run.

You deserve better than a hot, popular, drooling d-bag. You deserve someone who supports you emotionally, but also knows how to have fun. You deserve someone who lusts over you when the moment was right, but can also spend days spending simple time together. Stop settling for less than perfect.