These days, it seems like girls are throwing around the words "soul mate," "love of my life," and "my one and only" as a caption on pretty much every Insta picture or story that they post. Not to mention that many of the relationships blowing up social media have barely made it to the 3-month mark yet, or the couple had barely made it to age 16 yet. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for posting pics and snaps of you and your man, I'm 100% guilty of mushy "I love you" captions myself. But after three months can you really be completely and undoubtedly positive that you are in love with someone? Can you really know exactly what you want from life and know who you want to settle down with at the age of 16? Personally, I don't believe so — and I would be kicking myself if I had ever ended up stuck with the person I dated around those teenage years. So here is my opinion.

I believe you can grow to love someone after just a few short months, love them as a best friend or someone you really enjoy spending time with. But I don't think you are really IN love with them until a little farther down the road. Wait until the honeymoon phase has passed (because yes, it is inevitable, it will pass). Do you still enjoy being around them every day? Do you still want to text them or call them just to see how their day has gone so far? Do you still want to hang out with them every night, even though you've now figured out their annoying habits, their quirks, and their flaws? If you truly think he's the one, then these things shouldn't matter. The fact that he talks about cars 24/7 shouldn't make you want to walk out the door. Even if you don't understand a word coming out of his mouth, the excitement on his face when he talks about his passion should make you want to listen anyway. If he's truly the one, he will make you question all of your previous relationships.

And I don't just mean "OMG, my ex is so ugly compared to new bae, I bet he will be so jealous when he sees this Snapchat." I mean really think about how you were treated, what you thought was "respect" before, is completely blown out of the water now. He doesn't just care about you and respect you, he cares about and respects your family and your closest friends too. He loves them just as much as you do. He is your biggest supporter in everything you do and will do anything to help you achieve all of your dreams. But he also won't be afraid to bring you back down to earth when you need a reality check. And, if he really is the one, you won't even question the reciprocation. If he's the one, you will trust him to help you conquer your biggest fears, and trust him with your biggest secrets (not just trust him to get the best angle/lighting for your Insta pic with your BFF). You won't be afraid to break down in front of him and cry for hours, to let go and act like a complete fool with your bad jokes and bad dance moves, and you will not care when he sees you with no makeup, no tan, and soaking wet hair.

So if he's really the one, the one you can't picture a future without, the one who you know has your whole heart, then congratulations because it's the best feeling in the world. But if you're 17 years old and you're dating the cutest of all the boys who popped into your friend group this month, don't throw around the terms "love of my life" and "the one." Save for when he really does come along. Trust me, you'll know when.