Like any other girl my age, I’ve had a few boyfriends. All of them didn’t work out for a few different reasons, but now I’m realizing those relationships didn’t work out because of one common reason: they were selfish.

It didn’t take me until now, when I’m in an actual good relationship, to realize.

Those guys wouldn’t communicate, and they put me as a second option. They didn’t care how I was feeling as much as they cared about their own feelings. I was always there for them when they needed a shoulder to cry on, but as soon as I needed someone, they were busy.

I’ve never been too picky with guys. If I liked a guy, I would do anything for him, even put my own feelings to the side. I was always the one who cared more.

It wasn’t until my last relationship, that I started to be picky about the guys I let in. I started to realize that I deserve better than to be a second option or a way to get back at an ex.

My boyfriend now cares more about my feelings than he does his own, and I care about his feelings more than I care about my own. I realized that that’s what you need in a good relationship. You need someone who will put you first and protect you and you need to do the same for them.

I’ve never noticed how crappy I was actually being treated by guys until I was being treated exactly how I’ve always wanted to be treated by a guy.

He makes me the happiest I've ever been. This year has been a pretty difficult and stressful year, but then he came into my life and turned it around. Not every girl realizes their worth, especially when it comes to guys. But every girl deserves to realize that they deserve better than that guy who doesn't treat her right.

Every girl deserves a guy who will be their rock and protect them. Every girl deserves a guy who makes them genuinely happy and makes them a priority, not an option.

Every girl deserves those "good morning" and "goodnight" texts. Every girl deserves that genuine "I love you."

Every girl deserves a guy who is everything they’ve ever wanted or needed. If you don’t have that guy, go find him. You deserve better than the guy who treats you as an option.