I cannot tell you the countless number of times I have had a friend say, "He/She is definitely the one. We are going to get married I can just tell," only to discover, two months later, that everything has ended and they "absolutely hate" each other now. Now, for those of you who in the back of your mind right now are saying "wait I've done that", DON'T WORRY. I'm not here to criticize you. I'm here to tell you that this step in your life is totally okay, however, I also want to provide you with my fab five rules to follow when it comes to dating as to make sure you don't get hurt or miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. So, without further ado.... the fab five:

Rule Number 1

My first piece of advise is IF YOU BROKE UP WITH SOMEONE THERE IS A REASON and you should absolutely never ever ever go back. We end relationships for many different reasons: values not lining up, fighting too much, not putting in equal amounts of effort. Whatever it might have been, if your gut feeling pushed you to end things with your previous significant other, then what makes you think that anything will be better for round 2?

Rule Number 2

Keep your eye on the prize! We all have an ideal future partner in mind including their ideal personality and demeanor. So, if you know the complete makeup of the person you really want to spend the rest of you life, don't waste your time with someone who does not fit these qualities.

Rule Number 3

It's not all about appearance! While having a physical attraction to someone is important in a relationship, if you find someone who is really everything you want or could dream of when it comes to their personality, you will all of a sudden notice that looks just come naturally. I know that sounds silly, but when you are really genuinely attracted to someone for all of the RIGHT reasons, everything else just seems to fall into place.

Rule Number 4

Love and dating is a two way street. You cannot expect your significant other to do every single thing you want from them and they shouldn't expect the same from you. It is extremely important in a relationship to make sure to both contribute everything you can to the best of your ability. Since you do not lead the exact same life (you have different majors, hobbies, jobs, etc.) it is important to keep in mind that while it seems like you might be putting in more effort, if analyzed more closely, it could be the case that your SO is using every minute of spare time they have on you and deserves some credit and forgiveness for their busy schedule. However, if they really aren't allotting any time for you when they do in fact have it, maybe its time to move along.

Rule Number 5

The ultimate number one rule I can tell you to follow is to be honest. Not only with your significant other but also with yourself. Above, I listed some things you need to look for in the perfect relationship and you probably agreed with most of them in theory. However, now is the real task. Take a step back from your current relationship, talking situation, or random person you text about everything, and ask yourself if everything is really fit for you. Is everything going to be 100% perfect all the time? Probably not, however some get lucky. But really look at your current status and, being completely honest, decide if you are really really happy.

While my advice may not be fool proof, I think you will agree with me when I say that these key components need to be kept in mind when on the ultimate search to find that man/woman meant for us.