Picture this:

You are a junior in high school and you meet someone that makes your heart race. You catch yourself thinking about them all the time. Finally, you get the courage to go on a date with them and you know immediately that this is it, this is 'the one'.

Only seventeen years old and people tell you all the time, "you're too young, you don't know what love is," or "this is just puppy love." I am a firm believer that when you know, you know.

Fast forward three years.

You've been through EVERYTHING together. Some things that could literally make or break your relationship. Graduating, beginning college, the stress of college, the stress of moving, jobs, homework, weight gain and loss, financial issues, car issues, and the list goes on and on.

Maybe your family isn't always supportive, maybe your partner's family isn't always supportive. Maybe there are some things you both just absolutely cannot see eye to eye on. Maybe you want to be young and wild and they just want to settle. Some people don't want to work through some of these things together. Maybe some do. What I can say and be completely truthful about through my own experience is that you will only grow stronger together when you work on these things together. When you walk through hell together, you come through stronger than you ever thought you could.

The perks of finding the love of your life at a young age are countless, but here's a few:

1. You have a lifelong friend.

2. You will ALWAYS have a shoulder to cry on, someone to vent to, and someone to play with.

3.You will always have someone who believes in you and inspires you to be the best version of yourself.

A few of my own personal ways to keep the love and peace in your relationship:

1. NEVER go to bed mad at one another. When I say never, I mean NEVER. If you have to lose an hour of sleep to talk to your partner about what's going on, do it.

2. Always make time for "I love you", kisses, hugs, and sweet notes to each other.

3. When one of you is stressing out, make it a point to ask your partner if there is anything you can do for them to make their day better.

4. Be understanding when your partner has to work late, has a ton of homework they need to work on, or even if they just want to go out with their buddies for the night. You can't be together 24/7 and never get sick of each other. You do need space.

5. Love your partner, through the good and the bad.

“According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.”
― Plato, The Symposium