Have you ever had a guy ask you, "Why are you girls so complicated?"

I can't tell you how many times I have been asked this question in my short lifetime. Whether it’s coming from my brother, my cousins, my guy friends, or my friend's boyfriends, guys think we are the most complex beings and want an inside look into the way we think, act, and feel.

Guys can actually think about nothing so it seems to baffle them that girls are thinking all the time. Since I am a girl, I know pretty well why we do the things we do. Now, just because this is what I have picked up on, does not mean every girl acts this way. We are all different, but here are a few things that are pretty universal in "girl world."

1. Girls appreciate small gestures.

Getting her flowers, holding the door open for her, sending a meme that made you think of her and noticing when she puts effort into her outfit are just a few examples of small gestures that mean a lot to a girl.

2. When a girl says "It's fine," it's not fine.

I don't care if she texted you "It's fine" 3 times, things are not okay and you should probably call because chances are she will get mad if you don't.

3. Girls are indecisive beings so don't ask them where to eat, just take them where you want to go.

Girls hate when you ask them where they want to eat. It's the hardest decision ever, so just pick for them to prevent the hour-long back and forth discussion on where to eat.

4. Pictures of baby animals will always make girls cry because they are so damn cute.

I've never met a girl who can look at a picture of a puppy and not start tearing up. If you have an actual animal, even better, but if you don't, show a girl a picture of a baby animal and I guarantee she will at least text you for a few days.

5. Girls may seem sweet at first glance, but they can switch personalities like no one's business.

Girls deal with a lot of drama 24/7 because unfortunately, it's in our DNA. I have no idea why girls are always involved in some sort of drama but we are. So we have mastered the art of going from sweet to badass in 5 seconds flat because of the ever-changing moods women find themselves in throughout the day as well as the mounds of drama that seem to find us throughout the day. You never know when a girl is gonna be triggered and we have learned how to handle it calmly but also firmly enough you'll think twice before starting drama again.

6. Girls overanalyze everything.

Texts, social media posts, something her friend said earlier in the day—it’s all fair game to be overanalyzed. The only way out is to have a good friend who talks her down from that shady cliff. So if a girl starts overthinking a simple thing, try to help her figure it out and if you can't help, get her connected to her friends fast so they can figure it out together.

7. It takes girls forever to get ready for a reason.

Unlike males, a majority of females have a lot of hair they need to wash, blowdry, and style. Styling is an art, and like any work of art it takes time to perfect. Same goes for makeup, a full face makeup tutorial's average length is 30 minutes so expect 60 minutes with all the pauses and rewinds we have to do in order to get every step.

So, please be patient and don't think we do this to piss you off. Trust us, it pisses us off when it takes this long to get ready too. Also, it's a common misconception that girls look nice for guys. We put in the effort for ourselves first and if you happen to like how we look then that's just an added bonus. Not everything we do is for the attention of guys, sometimes we just like to dress up for the fun of it.

8. Girls are more chill than you probably think they are.

Everyone has their moments, but guys, we have seen you act way more dramatic than us sometimes. An example is when we paint our nails, you guys complain about how awful the smell of the paint is and insist you must leave the room because of the smell.

Really? If a speck of dirt gets on your new Timberlands or on your freshly washed car, it's the end of the world as we know it. Or, if you get sick, you act like you’re dying and need us to take care of you as if it is your last wish on Earth. It might be the fact that we feel like crap for at least a week every month due to Mother Nature's monthly visit, but you don't see us (most of us girls anyway) asking you for multiple favors when we are sick.

Point is, we all have our dramatic moments and it's not exclusive to just girls.

9. Girls tell their best friend a lot of things but not everything.

This is different for a lot of girls, as some feel the need to tell their best friend everything and others have boundaries on what to share and what not to share. While we love our best friends, they do not know every aspect of our lives because they have their own life as well.

Do not go to the best friend to find out if there is a problem.

Talk it out with us; don't get our best friend involved in something that is not their problem. They are a good person to talk to about what we like and what we don't like but don't go to them and try to solve the problem through a crappy game of telephone. This ultimately creates trust issues as well as communication issues. Guys just… don’t do that.

10. Sometimes she needs space from everyone.

Everyone needs space every once in a while. Some girls like clingy and others like independence, but after a while, we just need to step back and analyze our life. If she's not talking to you, it doesn't always mean she's not interested or is mad at you.

She has a life, too, and you know how busy life can get sometimes. Don't send four texts in a row just because she isn't replying as fast as she was before. Give her a little space, and I promise it will pay off in the long run. Once she has had time, she will respond and things will go back to the way they were before she needed that space.

11. Flirting is not a talent all of us girls have.

A lot of people assume we are great a flirting because we are girls. This is completely false. We are all human and being human means we make mistakes. Girls are usually timid and not brave enough to make the first move and the ones who are that brave have either had a lot to drink or just have a thicker skin than most–props to them!

We live in an age of feminism now, where there is no such thing as “the guy needs to make the first move.” Just because this new thing exists, does not mean none of us appreciate when the guy makes the first move. So cut a girl slack if she asks you what your favorite bread is, she's not trying to be weird she's probably trying to flirt but it just doesn't seem like it.

Also, bread is delicious so just answer the question.

While this does not even scratch the surface of what goes on in a woman's mind, it's a good place to start if you’re absolutely desperate for an answer. I promise, we girls are not always that complicated and if you ask us, we will usually be pretty straightforward with what is going on in our heads. For all the other things girls do, good luck trying to decode what they actually mean because even I have a hard time figuring out what they mean.