I’ve never been a girl who swoons over fairytale romance. I get that life isn’t even close to perfect, so I don’t expect relationships to be either. Forget flowers and candlelit dinners — this is what love looks like to me:
- Talking any time of day. I want a guy that will talk to me in the morning, in the afternoon and at night too. He doesn’t just text me when he wants something from me. He always wants to chat, even if it’s about basically nothing at all.
- The little moments. I want a guy who picks up an extra coffee for me when he goes on his morning Starbucks run. I want a guy who texts me a gif from my favorite sitcom. I want a guy who appreciates the little things in life and isn’t afraid to share those with me, too.
- Not needing to compromise. In my opinion, true love means never compromising because making the person I love happy would never feel annoying, it would just feel normal. I want a guy who feels the same way.
- Having zero sense of time. Love looks like never watching the clock and feeling like time just melts away. I want to love someone and feel like I could never stop talking to them and it still wouldn’t be enough.
- Hoping for the future. I don’t need surprises or red roses (or any kind of gift, really). I want a guy who hopes for our shared future and is willing to talk about it. Thinking about moving in together or trying new things as a couple is so much more romantic than bragging to my friends that he bought me flowers and chocolate (ugh).
- Taking up each other’s hobbies. I love to cook and I want a guy who will make dinner with me on a regular basis. I have zero interest in sports but would be happy to watch them with the person I love by my side — as long as there are chips and guac involved.
- Not caring what people think. So what if my friends think I’m moving too fast or too slow or that I’m not making the right decisions? I want a love that is all mine and all his too. I want to make choices that feel right for us and not worry about anything else.
- Having time apart. I don’t want to be surgically attached at the hip to the guy that I love. That’s not what love looks like to me. I want to keep working hard and seeing my BFFs and watching my shows and I want him to do the things that he loves too.
- Sharing everything. Forget cheesy cards and presents. I want a guy who will share everything with me, from his feelings to his childhood stories. And I want to do the same.
- Feeling solid. If I feel things are unsteady and uneven and could fall apart at any moment, that’s not true love. I want to feel super solid in every second of my relationship. I want to feel like problems and issues are no big deal and that he’s as committed to working things out as I am. And if we can deal with anything, that’s worth so much more than a bouquet of bright red roses any day.
