Advice is great. Truly, it is. People love to give you an idea of what they think is the best way to do something or how to deal with another person. As human beings, we are very used to needing other people’s advice to function in certain situations. Girls (and I suspect guys, too), we’ve all had our friends help us respond to a text before. If you’re denying this, you’re lying.
But sometimes, someone has advice about your relationship or the person you’re dating. Advice about this is good; sometimes you need someone on the outside to help you see things that you might be blinded from on the inside. And sometimes, these opinions change the way you think or the way that you feel about someone. Believe me, I know how it feels.
I’m here to tell you not to believe everything people say. People, even the closest of friends, have different opinions about certain situations and certain people. Sometimes your best friend doesn’t really like the person you’re dating. Or sometimes the person you’re dating doesn’t like your friends a whole lot. And that’s totally okay! There is no way that you can agree with someone completely. So please, don’t believe everything people say. Yes, it’s good sometimes to take their opinion into account; you might see a whole new side that you never thought of. But don’t let someone else’s uncertainty change how you feel and what you know.
There are times when people think I’m crazy when I say I’ve found my other half in my boyfriend. But their opinion doesn’t change what I know. They can’t imagine what I’m saying because they’re not a part of my relationship. No matter how much I try to explain, they’ll never know until they’re in their own. I don’t say this to be mean to my friends, or judge-y to those who are not in a relationship. All I mean is that you can’t know what someone else is feeling, no matter how they try to explain it. You can only know what you feel.
Your relationship is yours — not theirs, yours. It’s between you and your partner. There are certain things about it that others cannot imagine or envision, and that’s okay. You know how you feel, and (hopefully) how your partner feels. That’s what’s important. If you think you’re in love, don’t let someone else make you believe you’re not. If you think you’ve found the one, don’t let someone else tell you that you didn’t. Go forth with the knowledge of what you know to be true about you two and not somebody else’s truth. Stay true to you and your feelings. This way, you'll always stay happy.
