How do you know you love someone? Is it when you enjoy spending time with that person? When he or she makes you laugh harder than anyone else? Is it when you think no other person could be any more perfect?

People have often said, "Love is blind," which means that when you love someone, you can't see any faults in that person. Many people, especially those who have gone through horrible breakups, think this to be true. They even use it as a tool for moving on and as an explanation to why they stayed with someone who ended up hurting them badly. It allows them to point out their exes' annoying or disgusting habits and say they just weren't thinking clearly during the relationship because they were "blinded by love."

I, however, think that real love sees all. To me, love is seeing and knowing another person's faults, but finding a way to accept them or work through them. It is looking at a person, with all of his flaws and imperfections, and saying, "I choose you. No edits, no exceptions. I choose you and everything that makes you you."

This doesn't mean you have to accept any harmful behavior or discourage them from improving themselves; it means that you are fully aware that they are a work in progress, just like you.

Some people question whether or not they love someone, but complete acceptance of the other person is a telling sign.

I don't think you can truly love someone until you've seen their imperfections.

I realized I loved my ex-boyfriend when I knew I would rather take him the way he was than not have him in my life. We had some differences of opinion and he had personal issues he was dealing with, but that wasn't a turnoff for me. I saw the fun, caring, and energetic guy most people see in public, but I also saw him in the stressful and darker times he kept private. I knew I loved him because of my willingness to be with him no matter the circumstance.

I think it is a privilege to get to know someone so fully that you see every side of them. There are a lot of people who you meet and befriend, but you don't always experience that deep connection that allows you to get to know them for who they are.

No one is perfect and no one is without fault, but that is what makes us human. Instead of wanting someone who seems "perfect" and "flawless," we should find someone who we believe is "perfectly flawed."