To the 15 year old girl on Twitter

So you think you're in love with the guy that you started dating "12/14/14-forever"? 

Well, coming from a girl who met her boyfriend when she was 15 and has been with him for the past four years since then, here is some advice to you: you are not in love. Sorry to burst your beauty queen bubble, but what you're feeling is definitely not love. I know because I was 15 once, and my boyfriend was perfect. He took me on picnics, he let me sing cheesy love songs to him, he air guitared to Bohemian Rhapsody with me, and was the first boy to ever ask me to dance with him. He was the first boy I ever did anything with, including admit I loved him about five months into the relationship after he told me he loved me and even that felt really sudden. He literally was the man of my dreams and for that first year I thought I would follow him anywhere. 

But like everything, things started to change. We got comfortable with each other, we discovered each others lies that we had created to make our relationship the thing it was. I turned out to be super jealous and overbearing along with lying about how I spent my days. My "perfect boyfriend" turned out to be OCD, judging, and have problems in the bedroom. But you know what? I still love him just as much as when I thought he was perfect. Yes, we've had our knock out drag out fights where we yelled and I slapped him and I cried and we both begged to start over. We've had our moments when he looked into my eyes and told me the dreaded words, "I don't think we should see each other anymore" which felt like it ripped my insides apart. I've had moments where I laid in bed and wonder what my life would have been like if I had not have dedicated my life to our relationship and we both went our separate ways when it started to get tough. But we didn't, we fought and pushed on and promised to be better and fix the parts of ourselves that weren't good for anyone. 

And you know what? Totally worth it. Because going through that made me understand that I really was in love with him, no matter how bad things got (and believe me it got pretty bad at some parts). We actually have never broke up, just had our moments where we definitely wanted to. We never gave up, which makes me proud and brings me to this point. You don't know love yet, because you haven't experienced it yet. Love is a choice to go on when if it was with anyone else you would have hit the road long ago. Love is cleaning up a mess that isn't yours and disgusts you because your partner is working a 12 hour shift and she usually does it. Love is dealing with your boyfriend's super Republican, racist dad bash President Obama when you voted for him last election and see nothing wrong with him. Love is making sacrifices that you would have never had to even think about if you were single. Love is giving up some of your dreams and collaborating a new dream that fits both of you. 

Most importantly, love is accepting that your love has weaknesses. No relationship is perfect, and you get what you bring into it. So bring respect, honesty, understanding, and always be loving because if you care about your relationship and work to keep it healthy, it is like a priceless jewel you can always have. (p.s. People are always changing so don't expect it to be perfect everyday 24/7).

Author's Note

I am no expert at love I've only been dating my boyfriend for 4 years and I know there is more hard times and learning to come but this just came to me after seeing a young couple freaking out about "being in love."