It was 12:00 am on January 1, 2012. A 16- year-old had just said good night to her family and was sitting alone in her living room. Out of the blue, she happened to get a text from a 16 - year-old boy asking her if she'd like to hang out sometime and maybe go bowling. She said yes, and then they dated for the next four years, eight months, and eight days. Oh by the way, that 16 year-old girl was me, and the 16 year-old boy was my boyfriend, Robert.

Robert and I have been super blessed to have been dating since our sophomore year of high school, but it's also been incredibly challenging. There have been many great times, but also a lot of really tough times. So I decided to compile a brief list of both good and bad aspects of dating young and long-term.

GOOD: We're getting to grow up together.

This is my favorite part of my relationship with Robert. We have changed so much over the course of four and a half years. We've been blessed to go through a lot of milestones together, like graduating high school, going to college, and getting our first adult jobs. And there's still so much growing up left to do, which is so exciting!

NOT SO GOOD: Sometimes it feels like we haven't grown up much at all.

We still argue about the same stupid things that we did when we were in high school. For example, just the other day I got mad at Robert when he didn't text me back quickly enough. I think that no matter how old you get or how long you're together, there are always going to be arguments about things that don't actually matter. You just have to learn to work through those things.

GOOD: We know each other really well.

Robert knows me more than everyone else in the world. As hard as it can be to fully trust someone and fully invest in them, it is so completely wonderful when you're able to do it. Never underestimate this.

NOT SO GOOD: We know each other really well.

Nope, that's not a typo. It can be both good and bad to know someone so well. We still get annoyed with each other. The things that annoy us will still annoy us tomorrow. No amount of time is going to change that. When I get annoyed or upset with Robert, I have to remind myself that 90% of the time he makes me happy. I choose to forgive and move past the 10% of the time when I'm not happy.

GOOD: We have so much to share.

with himis to talk about funny things that have happened to us. We get to share all of those memories together. But our relationship is not only about the past but about the future as well. Our future is going to come with so much more to share. This is exciting and scary all at the same time, but we're ready for whatever comes our way.