When I was a teenager, I could never seem to find a decent, respectful guy who actually had good intentions. My two best friends that I grew up with seemed to have found love at such a young age, which usually made me feel like I was the odd one out. I tried to reason with the idea that when the time was right, I'd find the person I was meant to be with.

Looking back now that I'm in my twenties, I'm glad that nothing worked out for me. Those people, who I once so desperately wanted in my life, taught me lessons that everyone needs to have before going to college. I consider those brutal heartbreaks some of my greatest blessings. Maybe I was just being dramatic anyways.

Right before going to college, I had some hope I would finally meet a guy that was mature. After my first year of college, I lost ALL hope. Majority of guys only cared about one thing, which you can take a wild guess at. I refused to settle for the sleazy guy who was with everyone. I hate to admit it, but I always wanted to be with the guy who was a complete asshole.

My love life was nothing shy of a dead end. However, at the beginning of my sophomore year, when I stopped looking for it, I met a guy who changed my life. That may sound corny, but it’s exactly how I feel. I meet new people almost everyday, but there are only some people who I can confidently say changed my life for the better.

I thought this guy was too good to be true. I was waiting for him to stop answering my texts, tell me that I wasn’t his type, or that I was too strong-willed. I couldn’t believe that a guy was actually being nice to me. He treated me with respect and genuinely wanted to get to know me. I was relieved to know that I finally met a guy who was different, a guy who was kind and caring.

Given my history of disappointment and rejection, I was hesitant at first. I didn't want to be left with another broken heart, and I didn't know if he'd adjust well to my personality. Staying true to myself, I took a chance anyways. After witnessing me through party girl mode, to calm, Netflix-binger, to eating the rest of his meal after finishing my own, he turned out to like me for who I was. He now loves me for everything that I am.

Over two years later, I am still with the guy who taught me what it means to love and be loved in return. After being in a relationship for so long, I realized with the good times always comes the bad. Love isn’t always a stroll in the park, glitz and glam, or rainbows and butterflies. I believe the problem with people’s unrealistic version of love is the movies we watch, or the overly good-looking actors that leave us drooling at our screens. Love is hard work, but there are the perks that make the struggles worth it.

It’s comforting to come home and cuddle up next to someone, someone who never fails to make me laugh. It’s exciting to have someone who actually cares and wants to hear about my day, whether my day was good or bad. It’s fun to have date nights and be taken out to new places. It's nice to have someone make me feel like nothing else in the world matters besides my happiness. It’s an amazing feeling to be in love with someone who I also consider to be my best friend.

However, real love is crazy. Real love is raw. They say the great loves are the crazy ones. Love is when he is driving me absolutely crazy, even when I'm most likely driving him crazier. It’s when we're in the car fighting for twenty minutes about where to go to dinner. We yell at each other over making the wrong turn on the street, or when he drives twenty miles over the speed limit. Love is when we shed tears after a bad fight but start laughing five minutes later.

My kind of love is being comfortable enough to tell him when he's being a pain in my ass and when he can tell me the same. It’s sending him multiple texts in a row without caring. It’s telling him exactly how I feel without sugar coating it. Love is missing him the second he walks out the door, but love is also him making me want to pop in my earplugs at times. To me, that’s the reality of love. It's the little things we hardly pay attention to that gives us the ability to define what love is in our own words.

Above all else, though, there is nothing that beats finding someone that makes me better and is constantly proud of me. There is nothing better than having him always there for me, even through my worst days. There is nothing better than being able to love him just as much as he loves me.

Everyone deserves to find this type of love. The type of love you can’t imagine living without.