I attended a high school prom for the first time in two years this past weekend. You might be curious as to why I, as a sophomore in college, was back at prom, and the answer is simple: my boyfriend is a senior in high school. Unconventional, I know.

Now let’s get the jokes out of the way. Yes, he can get into R-rated movies, his bedtime is actually past 7:30 p.m., and no, I’m not his babysitter.

I met my boyfriend two years ago through a mutual friend. I’ll admit that at the time, before I found out he was only a sophomore in high school, I was curious about him. He was funny and cute and taller than me (this is important when you’re almost 6’ tall, like I am). Then I found out how old he was and immediately shut down whatever feelings that could possibly result from talking with him.

Friends made the situation awkward and highlighted our age difference to the point where it was uncomfortable to talk to each other. We slowly lost contact only to reconnect this past summer. At first, I was turned off to the thought of dating him because he had his entire senior year ahead of him, but we decided to go for it halfway through the first semester of the school year.

There’s definitely more of a stigma for girls dating younger guys than the other way around. If a guy were dating a girl two years younger than him, no one would think anything of it. That relationship is seen as normal where mine is not, even though the age difference is the same; the roles are just reversed.

I know I’m not the only one to date a guy that’s younger. It’s more common than people think, and isn’t as big of a deal as people make it out to be later in life. I’m here to say that despite the teasing from friends, it’s worth it to follow your gut and listen to your feelings if you do find yourself crushing on someone younger than you.

I knew going into this that I would get teased because of the age gap but I’m not here asking for anyone to stop this teasing. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest, and some of the jokes are actually really funny. I can take it.

I’m here to try and shed some light on something seen as uncommon. My relationship is my own and I can only speak from experience, but from my experience I’ve seen that my 18-year-old boyfriend is more mature than some guys I have met in college. This works for us because before we dated, we built a stable foundation of trust and friendship. Without this I don’t think we would have a chance.

So if you find yourself curious or crushing someone who is a couple years younger than you are, I encourage you to at least look into the possibility of it going somewhere. It’s scary at first, but so worth it in the end.