Throughout my near twenty years of existence, I have never really had a tough time finding a guy. This isn’t to say that I am some exceptionally hot, "everyone-wants-me," narcissistic, perfect girl; but I was very open to seeing where a relationship with anyone who was interested in me would go. Consequently, I did end up having a couple long-term relationships that, as you can infer, came to an abrupt end at some point. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing but love for these past boyfriends, we never ended on unusually bad terms; but there was always something missing.

I know that dating me can be hard. I know that even though I am not “high maintenance” in the general sense of the phrase, my elevated maturity level can complicate a relationship. I’ve always been someone to take commitment seriously and have never really been comfortable with the lack of trust in the high school or college relationships that I heard of so often. After several months of self-reflection and convincing myself that I had to lower my standards for the age range I was dating within, I stopped.

I stopped trying to tell myself that true love was something you could only find when you were older. I stopped trying to tell myself that I could never have a successful relationship at this age because I was the problem. But most importantly, I stopped searching in hopes that my "person” would find me. Now, I hate the phrase, “my person.” After Lauren B. abused on it on Ben H.’s season of "The Bachelor," I never wanted to hear it again. Many people believe that “my person” can be equated to “the love of my life,” “my soul mate,” or “my everything.” But those terms have been romanticized and thrown around so much that, to me, they have lost their value. There’s just something about the title, my "person,” that describes an entirely different kind of love.

Your person is someone that will stay up with you until 5 a.m. just to tell to you that they can’t picture their life without you and proves it. Your person is someone you experience innumerable obstacles with, but your relationship somehow gets stronger. Your person is someone who makes you the angriest you’ve ever been, but you still never want to leave your side. Your person is someone who pushes you socially, intellectually, and mentally. Your person is the only one who sees you at your lowest point and genuinely wants to lift you up. Your person is someone that encourages you to try new things and grow. Your person is your best friend and your greatest love. Your person is someone that no one in the past could ever compare to. After thinking about the meaning of the phrase my "person,” I realized that I had never really had someone that qualified for the title in the past. I knew I’d have to wait for that person to come to me one day, if ever. But after letting go and letting love come to me, I’m happy to say that I’ve finally found someone that is undoubtedly, my "person.”