When you are young, in a long-term relationship, you get some compliments, but those compliments will most likely be outweighed by a lot of judgement. A lot of things that I have personally heard is "he is holding you back", "you haven't had time to live your life", or "you are too young to be held down". All of these, in my opinion, are completely wrong. It is okay to be in a long term relationship at a young age and I am here to tell you why.

Finding a soulmate is something that I truly believe in. By that I mean finding someone who fits into all the right places of your crazy, unpredictable life. As a teenager you are young, naive, and still trying to find yourself. And that is the issue that most people have with young couples; that each individual changes with age. What is truly beautiful, however, is going through the stages, the experiences of building and really finding out who you are with a significant other by your side.

No, I am not saying that this experience is easy or that it will work out for everyone, but if you are given the opportunity for this, it is truly worth it. Being able to grow with another human and go through different stages, opinions, and lifestyles, yet still having one thing that is constant, your love for each other, is truly inspiring. Each of you may change and grow into different, better versions of yourself, but your love for one another will never change. If the love is true, no matter what change either of you go through, that will stay constant.

As each of you grow and go off to college and find different topics that interest you, your friend groups may change and that is okay. It's okay to have a completely different group of friends than he does and vice versa. Being able to open your mind and heart to both sets of people will only mean the more friendships you gain and the more bonds you create. Spending time with your friends while he is out with his own is okay. You each are your own individual that enjoys to do different things. Like they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder. He will always be there for you when you get back.

Although you may have some pretty awesome friends, by having a long term SO you'll always have a best friend to be there for you. It's like a dual position. If you are feeling stressed and need to vent, he is your go to person. If you are bored, you can always pop up at his house, no questions asked. He's the person you can talk to about anything in secrecy as well as the same person that you will be able to go on all life's adventures with. You can be able to travel the world, and explore everything great with the person you love. You are able to goof off and have fun with him as well as have serious conversations about everything in life. Overall, they become the person that is perfect for every aspect of your life.

By learning and growing with this person through all the years you are able to become completely open with them. They know all your experiences: the good, the bad, and, most definitely, the awkward. You are able to open up and just be yourself, not having to hide any aspect of who you are. They know everything about you and they still love you anyways. As you grow older, there is no explaining the stupid decision you made at a party in high school because they were there to experience it with you and love you through it. There is no awkward silent moments of not knowing what to say because there is always a memory to reminisce on. After the first few years there is no more awkward family introductions because you have already met them all. Lucky, you already have a second family that loves you as much as the first one does and spoils you just the same. You have already went through the awkward stage of learning each other in an relationship and are ready to now grow with each other as the relationship progresses.

Long-term relationships do not come with ease, but they are most definitely worth it. Most are equipped with bumpy roads that you and your partner must face. But through these roads are the home of rays of sunshine that will beam throughout your relationship. You'll make memories that will last a lifetime and create a bond and friendship that will never break. You will be able to see a love that blossoms from a seed all the way into a gorgeous flower and experience each emotion along the way. Being in a long term relationship does not mean your life is over, it just means you have the honor to share all of your life experiences from a young age with another human that you love with the entirety of your soul. Shout out to all the young people in long term relationships, this is an experience that you will never regret and you'll always cherish. Remember to stay strong because the best is always yet to come with your significant other right by your side.