Relationships are tricky. And when I say tricky, I mean that it is not easy to have a successful relationship. A relationship takes dedication and patience. It takes time. It is not easy to come by.

For those who know me, my track record has been worse than my SAT scores (which were really not that bad). But, you get the point. The past two years, I have been through various types of relationships. I've been through long distance, college relationships, long-term, short-term, friends with benefits, friends who really weren't friends at all, hookups, hookups without consent, misconceptions and heartaches, alcohol and drug related problems, cheating and the list goes on... but the solution to all of these situations was simple. The solution was to break up. And that is what happened every time.

I finally believe the saying, "nothing worth it is easy to come by." I know I am young. I am barely 20 years old. But, I have been through a good amount of life. For a while, I was constantly looking for something. Both of my sisters married their first loves. I always thought the same was expected for me... to have good judgement and find someone that will make me a better me. So, I tried to do just that. I continuously tried to seek out someone to spend my time with. Time after time, it became old. The same situation happened over and over. I was forcing fate. So, once I grew up and realized you cannot force these type of situations, I fell into the relationship I am in now. And, boy did I get it right.

Once you are treated poorly by people you trust over and over again, you lose the ability to trust. Trust does not exist in your vocabulary anymore.You feel hopeless. You do not try anymore because you certainly cannot take another heartbreak. But, when someone walks into your life that doesn't make you question how you're treated, then you found someone worth your time. I came back from my spring break trip and fell into a relationship with one of my closest friends. Apparently, everyone was waiting for it to happen. We had no idea. But, we never questioned things and just went for it. I have never been happier.

When you finally get it right, you feel weightless. You feel like you are walking on air everyday. You feel like you always have wanted to; genuinely happy. You always have a glow. You feel like for once in your life, you don't have to question something important to you.

This takes time. It takes patience. It takes pure gratefulness. But, once you find that special person, don't let them go. They are in your life for a reason. Don't doubt their place in your story. Just enjoy their existence.

You finally don't have to be afraid to lose someone important to you. You can live without fear. You can create memories you will always remember until you're old and senile. Even then, no matter how things work out, you'll look back and tell your grandchildren about the one. You will tell them about when you finally got it right. All the negative experiences you had before now will disappear from your memory and become meaningless.

The storms were worth the sunshine.