You do not want an Instagram relationship. You know, those relationships that look just a little too good to be true? If you look at my Instagram profile, the relationship I have with my boyfriend looks near perfect (we even have our own hashtag). Can I be transparent? That’s not how our relationship is, and surprisingly, we would not want it to be. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we do get to go on trips together and my captions are always authentic. But in between those posts of beach trips, hikes, brunches and church on Sunday we occasionally… challenge each other. Real talk: wouldn’t you like to be with someone who challenges you to be a better person? Who speaks truth into your life, even when you don’t want to hear it? Who does not back away from your assertiveness? As far as my s/o and I are concerned, we have grown more within the past 2 years than ever before. While this may seem coincidental, I would have to disagree.

We do not have a perfect, Instagram relationship IRL. Sometimes I make mistakes, sometimes he does, yet through each mistake we learn to love a little better. We want to be on this rollercoaster together because we know that without the bad times, the good times would be undetectable or taken for granted. According to our social media, our music tastes are the same, but guess what? Probably half of the music I listen to, he could not care less about. I want to have my own opinions and I want him to have his own. I want us to be so passionate about what we believe in that we are okay with disagreeing. I want my perspective to be respected and expanded, not coddled in the corner of my thoughts. While identical music preferences might seem nice, that is not living in reality. As they say, “the opposite of love is indifference.” It may seem that disagreeing would be unloving, but that is not the case. I want to be in a relationship with someone who knows me better than anyone else but- for some crazy reason- loves me, and I think I’ve found that. That kind of love is way better than any Instagram relationship.

What do you think of Instagram relationships? Please let me know in the comments below.

Also, if you are new to my “Summer Chronicles” and want to read more follow this link to go to the very first article of the series and this link to go to the most recent.