To say we’ve been together for a while is an understatement.

It feels like we’ve always been together. Through high school (which is a lifetime in and of itself) and the first year of college, it’s been over four years that I’ve dated the same person.

When he asked me out, I was 14 years old. Today, I’m almost 19. I can drive now. I can vote now. I can go see gory R-rated movies alone now.

In the short years of being an adolescent, life changes with discoveries and unexpected situations. Your personality evolves more during your teenage years than any other time in your life.

Yet, I still get butterflies when he holds my hand. I still think about him during class. I still can’t stop smiling when he says my name.

Now that I’ve gotten past the cheesy introductory monologue, there are some delusions about being in a long-term relationship that should be addressed.

For starters, it’s not perfect. We’re no Noah and Allie, let me tell you. We fight and bicker and fight some more and bicker some more. You would think that we’ve had enough time to learn what ticks the other one off.

We have, but we still do it. He knows I hate it when he calls me out for biting my nails (it’s a nervous habit) and he hates it when I say he’s skinny. Bad days happen, and that leads to us getting crabby because we got cut off in traffic two hours earlier.

With that being said, we also know how to communicate with each other. We know that sometimes we have to step away for a while. We know that we have to say what’s on our minds when we’re irritated. Even though it's been several years now, we have yet to refine our telepathic receptors.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is if I ever get bored with him. I have to admit, we kinda cheated out of this question. Now we’re also in a long-distance relationship, so we don’t have to see each other all the time. This is a great thing. We have our space when we need it without hurting the other one’s feelings. I highly recommend personal space. It does wonders for a relationship. So do pizza and ice cream dates.

But even so, I don’t get bored with him. He’s my best friend, and you don’t really get bored with those kind of people. Obviously if he was a boring person, I’d get bored with him. I just got lucky that this kid still makes me laugh with his corny and typically inappropriate jokes.

“Is he the only guy you’ve been with? Don’t you wonder what other guys are like?” I won’t dwell on this one for too long because my Mom’s probably reading this (hi, Mom!), but no. I don’t.

I can’t exactly explain it, but I guess when someone always makes you feel like it’s still the first date, even after four years, you don’t wonder what it would be like to "be" with another guy. If it’s not broken...

And then there’s the marriage question. I don’t know if we’ll get married. I don’t even know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow.

I think the question is more like, “Can you see yourself marrying him?” Yes and no. I wouldn’t be unhappy, but I can say I’m not looking for betrothal just yet. Again, I’m 19 and a broke college student.

To be honest, I didn’t know we would date this long when I was 14 years old. He was with me when I had braces and bad hair highlights. I had the feeling we would stay together for a while, but a while starts off as 6 months, then a year, and then you lose track of anniversaries (I still milk it for the chocolate hearts, though.)

Right now, I couldn't be happier with my skinny boyfriend.