It's easy to get swept away into thinking dreams are reality in this age of social media. Between Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and many other sites, young adults and teenagers everywhere have access to see how other people their age live. It's almost impossible to scroll through your Twitter newsfeed without seeing #relationshipgoals or a picture of some elaborate date captioned "ugh wish I had a guy like this". Well, ladies, as a girl who has been in a successful relationship for 2 years I have something to tell you. You will NEVER have a successful relationship if you expect to receive these things all the time. While it might be nice to have a boy who will buy you the coveted 7 for $27 whenever you ask for it, that is most likely not going to happen.
While social media can be an amazing thing, it can also hinder people's relationships with one another. I'll admit that I have been guilty of sending my boyfriend a picture of some beautiful piece of jewelry that another person boasted about on social media that their boyfriend got them. However, I've come to learn that no relationship can survive and thrive on these expectations. Girls hold the men in their life to such high standards that it makes me question if they even want to be in a happy relationship, or if they're doing it for Instagram. One thing we have to remember as young adults in college or high school, is that our significant others don't have the financial means to give us our every wish and desire. They can't afford to take us out to an expensive restaurant and gift us with a new Pandora charm every time we have a bad day. Our boyfriends are struggling to pay their own college tuition, rent fees, and other living expenses. While they may want to spoil you, it might not be possible for them.
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These pictures we see on social media of happy couples after the girl has been given some expensive gift may spike envy, but it's important to remember that the amount of love your partner has for you can not be measured in material things. Someone could have all the expensive, trendy gifts in the world and still not be happy. What these pictures don't show you is the stress one partner while they spend their last dollar to keep their partner happy with the gifts she expects to receive. Instead of basing your #relationshipgoals on the images you see on social media, you should base them on real things. Be with the person who makes you feel beautiful every day, without having to buy you things so you feel that way. Be with the person who makes you laugh so hard and so much that you can skip doing abs at the gym. Be with the person who would never lay a hand on you unless it's to hug or kiss you. Be with the person who gives you gifts because they want to, or it's a birthday or holiday, and not because you expect them.
If you want to boast about how amazing your boyfriend is because he took you an expensive dinner, bought you a new Tiffany necklace, and surprised you with flower petals on your bed to ask you to prom, go ahead. However, I will be perfectly content with movie dates following dinner at Panda Express. Relationships are about people, not the things people give you.
