I just recently celebrated my first year anniversary of dating my boyfriend and honestly, I was not entirely sure that anyone would have ever dealt with me for an entire year. I'm so grateful that I've found someone that wants to make things okay after an argument that makes me question whether or not I'm a good girlfriend.

Before my boyfriend and I started dating, I had always heard my friends in relationships and family members tell me that relationships are hard work regardless of how easy it might feel in the honeymoon stage. If you want a relationship to work, you have to put in the effort. Ignoring problems won't make them go away.

I had never been in a relationship that lasted any longer than six months maximum before this, so I've learned that patience is extremely important in making things work. Neither my boyfriend nor I am perfect, so like any couple, we butt heads at times. There are some kinks that we've worked on and I'm grateful that every single time thus far we have come out stronger and better as a couple than before.

I'm still learning to voice my concerns in our relationship, especially since I'm not the type of person to voice any of my concerns really. My partner reminds me that my concerns are legitimate and that we can work through any problem that may arise. I feel extremely fortunate that he never gives up on our relationship regardless of his stresses outside of our relationship.

To be candid, I really never saw myself being with someone that is so opposite of me, and while opposites may attract, there have been studies that have found that they may not always last, so I'm extremely fortunate that anytime that we don't agree about something he's willing to work through our differences.

Since we still haven't lived in the same city during our relationship and we consider it a semi-long distance relationship, it can still put a strain on us. So, when I make things difficult or I react with far too much emotion, he makes things easy and remains calm while also trying to calm me down.

Although I'm not as deeply rooted in my faith as I used to be, there are still biblical passages that I always have while interacting with other people, like, "And let us provoke one another unto love and good works" Hebrews 10:24. And there's one that's always been in my mind when I wanted to validate whether or not my choice in partner is a good one. I read somewhere once that if you can replace "Love" with your partner's name in the following passage then you should hold him or her a little closer.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Corinthians 13:4-8.

My boyfriend makes me want to be the best possible partner I can be, and the best me I could possibly be. I always have aspired to be better, but having someone that cheers you on while you're constantly bettering yourself is unmatched.