As stereotypical teenage girl as it sounds, I saw a picture with this quote on it while scrolling through my cherished VSCO feed.
VSCO has become a creative outlet, but also somewhat of a safe space to post and share things that you would not normally share on social media accounts with more of the following base behind them. Girls post text messages, photos of them and their boyfriends or friend with benefits, and often times photos such as the one that I came across with empowering quotes that make you feel something.
When I saw this particular photo with the quote, I could not re-publish it fast enough. This summer and past year have been some of the immense intellectual growth. I have stepped back from what I used to define as beauty and popularity and tried to practice some self-love.
Somewhere along the lines of terrible heartbreaks and self-doubt, I realized that nothing could be truer. If someone is not willing to put forth the effort it takes to be with you, why in the hell would you spend another minute of your precious time on them? I am not saying you have to be bothered by someone every second of every day, but seriously… we should all set our sights a little higher than a guy who Snapchats us at his convenience.
This goes back to the pinnacle of everyday life, “If they want to, they will.” I mean, we have heard it all before. Everyone's favorite rom-com, "He's Just Not That Into You," hits way too close to home when discussing this subject matter.
Rather than making excuses for these boys that seem to be the ones we fall for over and over again, I truly believe there would be no harm in assuming people to do the bare minimum and letting ourselves be shocked when proven otherwise. If he wants to pursue you, he will. If he wants to make plans, do right by you, and treat you as you should be treated, fantastic.
However, it is about time we stop letting hormonal teenage boys dictate our happiness. I do not care what this newly sparked idea of the girl making the first move is suggesting, a girl should never do the chasing.
This brings me to yet another VSCO photo quote, "Don't be a chaser, be the one who gets chased. You are the tequila, not the lime." Cheesy or not, it's the truth.
No boy should have the power over a girl and her happiness that they have been given these days. For years, women were known as those who held the power. The tables have turned in an unfortunate direction, making males increasingly greedy and lazy.
This is how I perceive the dating world that we have come to know, and this is the new approach I will be taking; take it or leave it. I plan to do as I have been doing and focusing on myself and bettering my person, rather than relying on someone else to do it for me.