I think every young woman at some point feels rushed to settle down, get married, have babies and live happily ever after. For a lot of girls, they feel it as early as 18 years old. Let's be honest, you've had your wedding pinterest board since you were 13, and it's finally within arms reach the second you graduate high school. Whether it is your family pressuring you, the jealousy of all of your friends getting married, the desire to be loved, or maybe just the desire to get on with the rest of your life, we all feel it in one way or another. It would be inhuman of you to not want someone to share your life with, however the problem is we are keeping the wrong men in our lives just because we don't want to be alone, and farther away from the end game goal of *dun dun dun* ... MARRIAGE.

I've been in relationships that were "good enough" and I've been in relationships that were just plain BAD. It didn't matter, I still no matter the situation tried to picture my life with that person, and tell myself that it would be OKAY. I used to tell myself that fighting was healthy, that if you weren't fighting then you weren't being honest. I would think that maybe this was how everyone feels. I would compare my relationship to my friend's and think well at least it isn't that bad. I would let the fear of wasting all that time on one person to make me stay. Or I would let the fear of the span of time that I would be alone, in between boyfriends, scare me into staying. And the biggest, I would think that I could change them.

I could think of a thousand reasons to stay with someone, and yet not a single one benefited me and my happiness.

I made the decision to leave a "good enough" relationship, that I wasn't even unhappy in, but I didn't feel like I was as happy as I could be. I took that risk, and I thank God every day that I did. I made it through what felt like forever alone. I worked on myself. I spent time with my friends. I enjoyed life without the strain of a relationship weighing me down. But there weren't nights I didn't feel lonely. There were nights I thought I would never find someone to love me. And there were nights I regretted leaving that "good enough" relationship.... And then I met him.

It finally made sense why no other relationship had worked out for me. I met the one whom my heart truly longed for my entire life. He came into my life when I wasn't looking, and I think that's why. I wasn't in the mindset to force him into being my happily ever after, and I didn't need to, he already was. He accepted all of my many faults, and the baggage I carried with me everywhere I go. He brought out sides of me that I didn't even know were there.

I didn't fully know myself until I found someone who loved me for the whole person I was.

I found someone who I didn't need to change, and who didn't need to change me just to make the relationship work. I found someone who made my laughs outweigh my tears by the millions. I found someone who turned my anxieties and insecurities into giving me confidence and allowing me to think "hey I am actually quite the bad ass person." I found someone who believed in me. I found someone who made me feel important, and needed, while also taking care of me. I found him.

If he's cheating on you, leave him. If he doesn't make you feel like the queen you are, leave him. If you feel like something is missing (and you've communicated it to your S/O), leave him. If you need to mold him into some prince charming that he is not, leave him. If you fight more than laugh, leave him. If he adds more stress than joy, leave him. He ain't it, honey.

If you are wasting your time, energy, and emotions making the wrong person your happily ever after, then you are not allowing for the right person to come into your life. I am a total advocate for the fact that people CAN and DO change..BUT... that is a decision they have to make, and you can't make it for them.

I won't say relationships aren't hard, and I won't say relationships don't take WORK. But the difference is this: instead of constantly fighting against each other, you fight against the problem, hand in hand as a TEAM. Allow yourself to truly enjoy the good and the bad parts of life by choosing the right person to share it with. You won't regret it.