Sitting in the kitchen, frosting cupcakes my (now) boyfriend took a swig of his beer and, with his eyes on the ground, said:
"S-so do you wanna go out with me, do you wanna be my girlfriend?"
HE FREAKING STUDDERED!
Of course, I said yes and well now here I am: 20 years old with my very first, official boyfriend. No, I didn't post it all on Facebook and run to immediately change my relationships status. But I may have sung it from a couple of mountain tops. Especially for someone who really hates labels, this was a pretty big step, so of course, a few people had to know about it. It's not like I haven't dated or anything, just nothing ever really stuck. Unfortunately, none of my frogs turned into princes--I would say until now, but he was never a frog to begin with. He has always been a prince. Truth be told I'm glad it's taken this long. I've gotten to really get to know myself before bringing another person into my life. I've also been able to see through friends’ relationships things that do and don't work, as well as, see what I do and don't like. All without having to deal with the same amount of heartbreak.
That's not to say I haven't had my fair share of broken relationships and hearts, but they just haven't come from a slew of boyfriends; which sometimes is almost worse. So I don't feel inept or like I'm behind, I feel like I'm exactly where I need to be - exactly when I need to be here. It is weird finally being able to say the word 'boyfriend' and it's 10x as weird being someone's 'girlfriend'. I'm still figuring things out as I go along, but I'm blessed to have support and guidance from amazing people, like my mom. People who have always reminded me of who I am. I'm so grateful that she has helped to keep me from getting too "lost". It's ok to make mistakes and have seasons of listlessness, but she's always made sure that I knew that some mistakes are just not worth making, even if everyone else supposedly has.
I probably should've had my boyfriend read about what it's like to date a writer. Just so he knew that he and our relationship is now fair game for writing material, but gotta keep it interesting I guess.
So if you're out there and you've been single for a long time, or even forever, don't lose hope. And please don't settle. Your prince is out there, I promise, the poor thing is just probably lost or something. There's nothing wrong with you, you are amazing just the way you are and the right person will see that. Unicorns do exist and they're amazing, but don't forget how much of a bad-ass unicorn you are!
