Growing up, nobody told me that love was going to be easy. In fact, pretty much everyone told me it would be hard.
I thought that was impossible for me. I thought it would fall into my hand, sit there perfectly and never budge. I thought it was dates to the dance, holding hands, sharing ice cream cones and buying dogs together. For me, I thought it was going to be easy.
Then I fell in love.
We fight. We cry. We – well mainly I – raise my voice. Sometimes we are un-attracted to each other. Sometimes we get annoyed with each other. And, the worst part, sometimes we don’t like each other.
But, here I am, still in love.
This is dedicated to the person who has helped me understand that these things are okay and, debatably, necessary. The reason why is that the small arguments or big moments of tension pale in comparison to the cuddles at the end of the day. The smart-mouthed comments are nearly completely forgettable when you see a big smile come from that same place. Instagram posts and inspirational quotes can continually tell you that love is not about the picture- perfect moments. But, often times it doesn’t make sense until you find the person that has the right camera.
Picture-perfect moments are not always pretty, but they’re memorable.
They are the moments in which you have struggled and learned and grown. They are the moments that, in the end, make you a better person than you were the day before.
I heard something in a movie once that I liked, and it goes like this:
You like someone because of their good qualities, and you love them despite the bad.
I know this is true because I eat seafood now without questioning it (unless it’s raw or has eyes, of course). I entertain the idea of running for fun and I take care of my body. I can take constructive criticism without crying or lashing out. I get asked more often to be needier and feel comfortable expressing my feelings. I can curb my competitive nature. I can be weak when I need to be weak. I get more in trouble for pretending to sing poorly than I ever would actually belting out my favorite song. I feel beautiful, every single day. I feel strong. I feel excited to grow. I feel like a better person. And why?
Because I fell in love.
And, I feel lucky that it’s with someone who fights with me, pushes me out of my comfort zone and gets annoyed with me sometimes. I’m not sure I could be the better person I am today without that. So, thank you, Noah. ♡