You're in your favorite store, a usual haunt for you. You walk with a mission in mind knowing just what to look for: a new basic pair of blue jeans. You make your way to the back of the store, where you know the jeans are on display, and begin your search. Immediately you see a manikin with a pair just like you had in mind, and you dash over to find your size sitting on top. You instantly snatch it and find your way to the nearest dressing room to try them on confident they'll soon be yours. Only, when you try them on something feels off. The pant legs are way too long and drag along the floor as you walk. You shake your head and leave the dressing room to find a new pair. This didn't take you too long, and you eagerly try this pair on as well. Yet again, something is wrong. This time, it's the waistline: it's slightly too big. You look in the mirror and contemplate if you could just wear a nice belt. After about a minute of debating with yourself, you decide to buy them.
A week later, you're back to return them because the belt didn't make them fit any better. Feeling slightly discouraged, you wonder if you should even bother still trying to find a pair. You could just wear leggings for the rest of your life. You push through the doubt and try pair after pair still unable to find a perfect fit. You question if there's something wrong with your body type. Your friends never have this much trouble picking out jeans. In fact some of them found the perfect fit on the first try. You leave the store empty handed and figure you'll find a pair eventually.
About a month later, you come back to the same store, only this time looking for a sweater. The winter months are creeping up and your priorities of finding a pair of jeans have faded. You quickly find a knitted sweater that was just what you had in mind. As you're trying on the sweater in the fitting room, you notice a pair of jeans someone has left behind. You assume someone tried them on, and they didn't fit, so they were left in the room instead of putting them back on the shelf.
You examine the jeans admiring their faded blue color, but notice they're not quite your size. On a whim, you try them on, not expecting any positive outcome. But to your amazement, somehow they fit. You stand looking perplexed in the mirror, wondering why they seemed to fit so snug. They were labeled one size smaller than your usual, but they had plenty of room for you to move around in. There was a comforting feeling as you walked around the small dressing room. You smiled at the look of them on you. They brought out the best aspects of you, and you felt snug and warm under the stitches. You could really see yourself wearing these jeans for a long time, and you could tell there was room to grow.
But that's what love is like. It's trying something that looks like it's perfect for you, when it may not be. It's trial and error time and time again until you've given up. It's about giving up on relationships, out of discouragement, just to have one show up when you least expect it. It's the reality that what may not fit someone else, may fit perfectly for you. It's the person who brings out the best aspects of you, and always makes you feel warm and safe. Someone who fits you snug, but also shows you that there is plenty of room to grow. Some people find a pair right away, some may have to search time and time again. Sometimes your love doesn't fit the size you originally thought you needed. Sometimes it's too hot for jeans, and what you really need is a pair of shorts. Sometimes they just don't fit. But sometimes they do.
