Dating in 2016 is completely different from what I was personally brought up with. I was taught that relationships are special connections that you treat delicately and maturely. Relationships are things you don't mess around with but for many today, it's nothing but messing around. Many people think that small talk is the new deep, and "I love you" is thrown around as if the words mean less than nothing anymore. Couples are only lasting months instead of years, or even forever, and it's a sad sight to see. Where does it all go wrong?

This generation that we live in lacks loyalty, respect, effort, appreciation, and quality. It's not supposed to be this way, is it? This isn't the love I was raised to know. Instead of taking a girl to the movies guys are hitting them up at two am with a "wyd" text. Is that really what it's come down to? To see anyone go out on an actual date is a rarity, and to meet a person who actually does that is even rarer. Have we as people become that desperate to have someone that intimately close to us? Were these young adults not taught the same values as I was?

Love is rushed in 2016. So many individual's are jumping into relationships they aren't even prepared for while others are clinging onto people who give them the slightest attention because they desperately want to feel wanted. I've watched too many friends jump blindly into relationships that were not for them, and end up in heartbreak because of it. It seems like it's becoming harder and harder to find decent people that actually mean what they say, and that causes people like me and many others to second guess ourselves when decent people do come around. Love is something we're all beginning to fear when we shouldn't.

"What if it's a lie?"

"What if I'm wasting my time?"

"Do they really mean it?"

Many people think that someone won't love them unless they reach all of their expectations, and comply to their rules. Sometimes they will do absurd things just to have one person who doesn't even seem to care. These individuals need to realize they are enough for themselves and that if their love interest doesn't see that it's their loss. Being enough for yourself is more important than reaching others expectations. You will attract the right kind of people by being yourself.

People are all talk in 2016 , and use their pretty words to keep you by their side. Individuals who wear their hearts on their sleeves are easily swooned by this. Actions always prove why words mean nothing. That's why "sorry" doesn't mean much anymore.

Do not let the definition of "love" today push you away from what "love" actually is. Love is a beautiful thing! It can be true, honest, faithful, loyal, and respectful if you find the right person. Those people exist, it just takes a little more to find them.