Growing up all little girls have an idea of the man that they want to marry. You make mental lists of your own personal Prince Charming. He may be athletic or funny or smart. He is perfect for you in every way. He is flawless. f

Of course, this vision of our dream man alters as we grow up. We realize that some things are completely unrealistic, maybe he doesn’t have to be Prince Harry or he doesn’t have to own seven adopted dogs. We take off realistic personality and physical traits that cannot even be met by Prince Charming himself. That’s good.

Our lists don’t only consist of personality and physical traits but they consist of different ethical traits that one might have. Maybe you expect him to volunteer with animals. Maybe you expect him to go to church on Sundays. Maybe you expect him to take you out on dates.

You create this long list of expectations because this is what you think you deserve. This is what you deserve. Do not let anyone tell you differently.

Lately, I’ve noticed that too many of us college-aged girls have settled for guys that don't meet those standards that were set by us when we were in elementary and middle school. Remember, you deserve that awesome guy that loves to spend time volunteering.

So why do we settle for less? Why do we let ourselves cross ethical and moral traits off of our lists?

So what he's in the top fraternity, has washboard abs and a cute dog? If he doesn't meet the standards you've set for yourself why is he worth it?

We need to realize that we deserve the best, so don't settle for anything less.

Also, we need to constantly strive to be the woman that our Prince Charming deserves. I'm not saying we need to change who we are, at all. I'm just saying that we need to strive to better ourselves daily.

So let's try this. Let's write down our lists, in pencil. Because these lists can be edited, of course. The list changes as we change. But we need to constantly remind ourselves that this is our ideal man. Let's let young men peruse us. Let's be open minded about personality and physical traits. Let's be closed minded about our ethical standards. Let's not settle for anything less than what we deserve.