I’ll admit, I was once one of you. A friend casually mentioned to you that your Facebook Official obsession with Harry Potter isn’t “sexy” and you suddenly drop it. A guy once compliments your taste in beer, and suddenly you’re a beer guru even though you can hardly stomach alcohol at all. You overhear someone call you a tease and you (against all of your feelings and morals) try to change that.
And I wish you’d stop.
I know that right now, in high school or college, everyone is doing these things. Everyone is testing the waters and changing to see who they really are. But you already KNOW who you are. You wear boxer style underwear and love to dance around in your button up flannel pajamas. You sing to every country song on the radio even if your crush is more of an EDM guy. Whatever your version of these things is… why are you hiding it for some boy?
I never thought that someone could love me just for me. I always thought that some part of who I am had to be compromised. I spent years trying to figure out which part of me I had to let go to find “true love.” Was I too Catholic? Not a strong enough drinker? Was I too wrapped up in my writing? Then I met a guy, at a church function, not drinking, and fully supportive of my blog.
Eventually, you’ll find someone like that too; someone who loves every part of you. And when you do, the nights you spent trying to get the attention of a guy who was completely beneath you, the moments you spent puking your guts out because you were showing off your “liver of steel”, and the pieces of yourself you left behind will all become bitter and embarrassing memories. The boys who hated your favorite band, favorite color, favorite activity… they will all crumble beneath the man who cherishes every bit of who you are and encourages you to be your best self.
I promise that person is out there. And I promise it is worth the wait. Just hang on. Okay?
Love,
The girl who used to crush on boys who is now the woman in love with her best friend.