I am a sophomore in college who is single, and I blame my parents entirely for my lack of a relationship. I am not the type to whine about being #ForeverAlone or #FriesOverGuys even though in reality I would choose fries over a guy at any given possibility, but I do find that the reason I have steered away from being in a relationship is because of my parents.

No, my parents have not locked me up in a castle and given me thorough instructions on how I must grow out my hair and throw it over a window sill and wait until Prince Charming climbs up in order to save me and then I will suddenly have a boyfriend. Life just isn’t that simple. Instead my parents have simply shown me exactly how a relationship should be.

Since I can remember I always knew how wonderful my parents' relationship was, and perhaps that’s because I was five years old and everything is enchanting at that age, but I can still recall how in love my mom and dad were with each other, even at being a young age.

It was not until I was much older that I truly began to admire them as a couple and soon had the realization that they are the reason why I am single.

I grew up watching my father pull over on the side of the road every time he saw the moon and thought it was beautiful just so my mom could see it and then he would kiss her.

I grew up playing with my mother until my father came home from work so we could have dinner together as a family.

I grew up watching my father come home from work and rushing over to my mother immediately just to kiss her after a long day.

I watched my mother and father dance in the middle of our kitchen to beautiful music more often than not.

I witnessed my father open the door for my mother every time they got into the car together.

I learned that my mother gave up her dreams in order to start a new dream with the love of her life.

I laughed as they celebrated every year of marriage by going to Costco and getting hot dogs for lunch.

I feel incredibly blessed to have never seen my parents fight in front of their children.

I realize that every time my mother said, “excuse me” regardless of the context my father would reply, “there’s no excuse for being beautiful.” Every time.

I witnessed countless phone calls between the two of them during the day to check in on how they are doing or just to say I love you.

I came home from school to see flowers on the kitchen table just because.

I watched my mother stand on a stool in the kitchen just so she could reach up to kiss my father, who is roughly a foot taller than her.

I grew up in a family where birthdays or Valentines Day would be just another day, because love was constantly shown all 365 days throughout a year and not just on one.

I soon began to see how much more meaningful a card was as a present than anything money could buy.

I have seen my parents celebrate 28 blissful years of marriage that have been filled with laughter, children, travel, hardships, and life.

I was able to see and grow up with two parents who loved each other more than anyone possibly could. My parents are each other’s soulmate, best friend, partner, and other half.

These are the reasons why I am single. I refuse to settle for anything less than this, because I know it exists.

It might take me half my life to find someone that is equivalent to my father, but I will one day. I don’t see the point in jumping into a relationship if it doesn’t bring me the happiness my mother brings to my father.

I can’t thank them enough for giving me the most beautiful and honest relationship to look up to. Nothing was ever sugar-coated growing up, it’s not some sort of fairytale life we lived. But to me it was perfect, it was us. I saw how a healthy relationship works and how crucial it is to be particular regarding whom you decide to spend the rest of your life with.

It might not happen for me, and that’s okay because there will always be #FriesOverGuys. But a girl can still hope for something as wonderful as what I’ve been lucky enough to see.