As an only child, I watched my friends head home from school to siblings that were not only siblings but also playmates, soulmates, and best friends. I imagined a life of having an endless best friend that never left my side, but I knew that was not a possibility. Being an invitro baby, my parents explained to me early in life that there would never be another me, but I imagined a life with one anyway.

I grew up "well-loved", as I told my friends when they asked if I was spoiled. Even though I never knew the love of a sibling, I was well experienced when I came to being loved by a parent.

I watched many of my friends go through divorces and their parents remarrying as they faced stepsiblings and the gaining of half-siblings along the way, but I managed to be fortunate enough for that to never happen to me. I was blessed to be able to experience the perfect example of love and of a relationship from the two people I loved the most.

To many people's surprise, being 'well-loved' can be quite damaging. Not damaging in a way that harms you or sets you back, but rather in a way that gives you unbending and ruthless expectations of life.

Although my mother has taught me endless and life-changing lessons, my father set my expectations for a man so high that I have yet to find a man that can live up to them. My father taught me that a man's love for a woman should be strong, ruthless, powerful, healing, desperate, gentle, and natural all at the same time.

I quickly learned that a man's love is not needed by a woman but rather wanted by a woman and despite this, a man can make a woman bend and break to secure his happiness and love.

As I grew up and began to enter relationships of my own, I realized that neither of my parents were perfect and neither was their love for one another. Their love tested one another, and they argued occasionally but the number of times their lips found each other in the kitchen after work exponentially surpassed the arguments they encountered.

As my parents modeled the ideal relationship, I realized it wasn't my mother that I was looking up to but rather my father. He taught me the love a man should have towards a woman. He taught me that I should never settle for less than I deserve and most importantly, he taught me my worth.

I quickly learned that my father was the first man that I ever loved and that would never change. I was faced with the challenge of finding someone to live up to the expectations he set for me. There are so many things I would like to tell the man that I finally decide to love and that I finally decide to let love me, but I think I would like to start by saying good luck.

Good luck with living up to my high expectations. Good luck in proving your worth and good luck in loving me like my daddy does. Good luck my friend. If you win me, you deserve me and if you win me, sit down and have a nice long talk with my daddy.