Sometimes, growing up causes you to believe that the hopes you had for a Disney prince to sweep you off your feet, would never happen. That you’re stuck with the guy who doesn’t even bother knocking on your door when taking you on a “date” or the guy who only asks you on a date because of one thing he wants at the end of the night. Growing up makes you lose the hope for a romance so wonderful and sweet. So you settle.
You settle for the guy who says he doesn’t know what he wants because any affection is affection you want.
You settle for the guy who says he isn’t ready for a relationship, but he doesn’t want to lose you.
You settle for the guy who doesn’t treat you half as good as you deserve because you’re too scared that if you don’t settle, you’ll have no one.
So here’s a story about the girl who settled for less and the girl who didn’t.
Both girls had similar beginnings. They both fantasized about a Disney prince who would come and give them all his love. That he would treat them like princesses and they would never need another thing in their lives because he was there. Now, we all know Disney princes don’t exist, which is something both girls realized as they grew up.
However, as time went on, they each ended up on different paths. One decided that even if Disney princes didn’t exist, there would be someone out there who would give them their heart and she would give them hers too. One that would treat her right and love her the way she needs to be loved. This isn’t to say that she thinks they won’t make mistakes, because everybody does, but to say that even through those mistakes they’d care about each other and work through them so they could stay together.
The other girl decided that because Disney princes didn’t exist, this is what she was left with. The men who would use her for her body and who wouldn’t care how they hurt her. The men who would make mistake after mistake and treat her like she wasn’t worth the love she deserved. She gave up and she settled for less. She ended up with a man who would hurt her emotionally. She would sit up late at night, wondering where he was, only to have him come home at two in the morning, smelling like nauseating perfume and lipstick on his shirt. She stayed quiet though, thinking that this was the best she could get. That this is how every guy would treat her. He would tell her that no one else would ever love her the way he did, that no one would put up with her the way he would. She would think to herself, “well this is what love is.”
That’s not what love is though and the first girl realized it. She waited patiently for someone to meet her expectations. She didn’t lower the bar when guys would tell her she was high-maintenance or prissy or stuck-up. She put herself first and focused on herself and her career, while waiting for someone who would give her what she wanted or just put in the effort. Soon enough, someone came around. He wasn’t a Disney prince, and he wasn’t perfect, but he was willing to put in the effort for a relationship he wanted. He was willing to compromise and so was she. They would communicate and they would talk things about. Overall, they were a healthy couple, arguments and disagreements included.
There’s always differences in love. There’s always going to be the girl in a relationship she hates, but she doesn’t know anything else. There’s always going to be the girl waiting for effort, who knows her worth. The thing is, settling for less will ALWAYS mean just that: less. There’s less of someone to give and to love. You will never be satisfied when you settle for less in a relationship because you will never feel fulfilled. The girl who doesn’t settle for less, who wants more and asks for more, will always be happier and more satisfied than the girl who settles.
Be the girl who doesn’t settle. Be the girl who won’t stay with someone that doesn’t make her happy. Be the girl who loves herself more than she needs others to love her. Be THAT girl and you will always end up satisfied.