I didn't plan on dating in college, especially not freshman year.
I pictured myself finding a whole new sea of boys, maybe dating around, having a couple wild nights, and then finding my Mr. Perfect around the time I was going to graduate. I would then settle into life with a man by my side while we worked in uptown New York City.
Then, the first weekend of college, I met my soul mate.
I hadn't had a great experience with dating prior to college. I had been hurt, played, and disappointed over and over again, and I came into college completely convinced that I would never let someone get that close again, at least not for a long, long time. But I have never met someone willing to get to know me -- all of me. I have never had someone want to get to know what makes me tick -- and still decide to stay and love me for all of it.
They say you date in college to find someone to marry.
Knowing that, it's weird for me watching people avoid love. Instead of romance, we end up in bed with the hot guy from English after a night at the C.I., or decide to snapchat the pretty girl in our dorm in hopes of getting a selfie back.
I don't know why millennial are so afraid of finding love. Real, passionate, strong love. We traded asking those we adore on dates for hoping they'll notice we favorite all of their tweets. We decided it wasn't cool to be with one person, so instead we tell others we "aren't looking for anything serious."
I think it's because we're afraid of rejection. We're afraid of getting told "no," and realizing the ones we like don't like us back. We're afraid of being together and getting our hearts broken.
Don't be afraid.
Nothing is better than knowing you are going through the same struggles as your best friend, and you have someone to talk about them with, judgment free. I honestly couldn't imagine getting done with a long day of class and cuddling up to my favorite person. I have someone to come home to after every party, every class, every game.
I wouldn't have been able to fall in love if I had fear of rejection. It takes making yourself vulnerable and trusting someone to not hurt you even if they could.
My favorite part of being in a relationship in college is knowing you are growing alongside the person you love. At the end of our four years, we will come out as even better people than we were to begin with. I wouldn't have it any other way.