Everyone always says "I'll never settle" or "that will never be me" and then one day you wake up and you realize, you've settled. Maybe you settled because things were comfortable or you were blinded by love, but regardless here you are, settling for that mediocre relationship that you try to convince yourself is the greatest thing to ever happen to you.

I know what I have to offer.

I am not a perfect person and by no means will I ever be, but I know that I have a lot to offer someone. I will be there when you need a shoulder to cry on, I will do my best to make you laugh when you are down. I am not self-absorbed, selfish, and I won't intentionally hurt you. I won't keep secrets and I won't hide things from you. I will do my best to make you a better person as opposed to holding you back.

I am trustworthy.

I am a trusting person, sometimes too trusting. I will trust you until you give me a reason not to and if you take advantage of that, you simply don't deserve me. I will let you have your space when you need it and I will check in on you when I get where I'm going, but I expect the same from you.

I have wasted my time.

Time is precious. And I've spent way too many hours crying about some guy who ended up not being the one for me anyway. I have fallen in love headfirst and been mistreated without batting an eye because "we love each other". I have missed out on friends, family gatherings, and school to make time for someone else and I shouldn't have. I pushed people away that I shouldn't have and I will never do that again.

I will have your back until I can't fight for you anymore.

If we're together, it's you and me. I will defend your bad habits (oh, he's just in a bad mood today) and I will make excuses for you (to a point). I will be as loyal as I possibly can and expect the same from you. Loyalty is not a one-way street and if I'm fighting for you, you better fight for me.

I have settled before.

I have woken up with this overwhelming feeling of dread over what was happening with a relationship. I have spent hours arguing over a phone, screaming at the person on the other end. I have made excuse after excuse for someone who would have never done the same for me. I stuck up for someone who lied to me and didn't seem to care. I lost myself in the process and I will never allow that to happen again.

So if you find yourself settling, get out. You are worth so much more than just sitting around waiting for someone to be the person you need them to be. People suck sometimes, so pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go find someone who's worth it.