Holly Riordan

Some people are meant to come into your world for short periods of time before parting ways with you. That doesn’t make the relationship any less meaningful — but it can make it incredibly painful. Here are a few signs that the person you’re seeing might not be planning on sticking around forever: They don’t…

Say goodbye to your almost because they might never become more. They might always keep you hovering on the edge of a relationship, begging for more, waiting for scraps. But you shouldn’t be happy with the bare minimum, with slivers of their affection, with glimpses into their heart every once in a while. You deserve…

Starting from scratch is scary. You don’t want to leave behind everything that you’ve built with this other person. You don’t want to decide that all of the milestones you’ve reached, all of the accomplishments you’ve made, have been for nothing. But you need to put your happiness above everything else. Yes, starting over again…

You don’t have to be afraid of your own emotions. Yes, it’s scary to develop feelings for someone who might not return them. It’s scary to open up your heart and give someone else the chance to break it. But love always comes with risks. Even the family members and friends that you love could…

When you love someone, you support their hopes and dreams. You push them to reach their full potential. You don’t hold them back out of fear of losing them. You don’t try to anchor them in one place because you’re worried they’ll move onto bigger and better things that don’t include you. You’ll do whatever…

Sometimes, it’s frustrating when your conversations all take place over the phone. If you like this person, you want to meet up with them face-to-face to see whether you’re compatible. You want to take your relationship to the next level, which is never going to happen if you stick to texting. However, there are some…

If their love language is quality time, they’re going to value every single moment spent with you. They aren’t going to be staring at their phone and scrolling through social media when they’re supposed to be on a romantic date with you. They aren’t going to be glancing at the clock, counting down the seconds…

If their love language is words of affirmation, they’re going to make you feel loved and valued every single day. They’re going to shoot you texts the first thing in the morning, reminding you how much they care about you and how they can’t wait to see you again. You will never have to wonder…

If their love language is acts of service, they’re going to help you out with your chores whenever you’re stressed. You won’t even need to ask them to pick up your slack because they will volunteer on their own. They’ll notice that you’re struggling and they will go out of their way to help you…

Actions are as important as words. Even if you vocalize your feelings for your partner every single day, saying sweet words isn’t enough. You need to back up those words with your actions. After all, it’s easy to say what he wants to hear. It’s a lot harder to set aside time to do sweet…

It’s always nice when your crush shows interest in you, too. When they like your photos and comment with fire and heart emojis. When they claim to miss you and talk about how badly they want to see you in person. However, there’s a big difference between someone who says these things and someone who…

You don’t have to pretend you’re emotionless. Even though there are people out there who are going to run the other way when you show the slightest ounce of emotion, it doesn’t mean you need to play it cool. After all, those people clearly aren’t right for you anyway. If you want to send the…

Breadcrumbing is when someone you’re crushing on senses that you’re interested in a relationship, so they give you just enough attention to keep you around. They don’t want you to move on because they like the attention you give them (and like having a backup plan in case their other options fall through). But they…

When you love someone, you’re going to give them one hundred percent of your energy. You aren’t going to give them the bare minimum, simply because you can get away with it, because they have never called you out on it, because they’re seemingly okay with giving you their all without getting the same amount…

You might not want to ruin the friendship by hooking up on a whim if you know you’re never going to end up together. You might not want to ruin the friendship if you’re the type of person who can easily push your feelings aside, or if you have a habit of jumping from crush…