Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

So stay single until you know your own worth. Stay single until you know your value to this world. Stay single until you can fill your own heart up. Stay single until you can smile genuinely at your self. Stay single until you beam with pride at your own heart. Stay single until you can truly tell yourself that you are worthy and wonderful and lovable.

When love is raw and real and genuine, it’s not going to feel so dark, so lonely. You aren’t going to feel so alone while lying next to someone who you think loves you. You’re not going to feel like the only person in the relationship. You’re not going to feel like you’re the only one trying. Like you’re the only one who actually cares.

You’ll break my heart by smiling at me in the sunshine while I pretend not to notice. You’ll grin, softly, with your dimples glistening in the 90 degree heat. And I will pretend not to want to smile back.

Modern dating is like trying to swim in the Atlantic Ocean just waiting for sharks to attack you. It’s like sitting in the Sahara Desert waiting for the sky to open up and downpour on you. It’s like going to the dentist and realizing that you have five cavities and they forgot to numb you first.

You are your own unique and wonderful person. There is only one of you in this entire world and in this entire universe. So don’t let anyone treat you like you are not special. Don’t let anyone treat you like you are not magnificent.

You do not have to be with someone who does not make your heart feel held. Don’t stick by someone who does not stick by you in the same way. Don’t give all your wildfire and your light to someone who does not see beauty in it. Don’t give your everything to someone who gives you nothing.

Your bed is your safe haven. No one can hurt you there. No one can bother you. No one has to see if you’re in a terrible state or mood. Your bed is the only place where you can be your true self.

I. AM. SHOOK.

You could be out with your girls for happy hour, or kicking back on a Sunday watching football with your best friends, when suddenly your heart beats at a scary rate, and you feel like you’re going to be sick. It’s really terrifying to experience this, especially when it seems to be coming out of nowhere. 

If you feel something, whether it’s joy or deep depression, you feel it to a really powerful extent. You feel deeply and so incredibly, that sometimes it can overwhelming for you. You never just feel ‘okay’ or ‘fine’. Your emotions are high on both sides of the spectrum. 

We want love so badly, that we have turned it into something less. Something laughable. Something temporary. Something dull.

And I will not waste my time with you if you aren’t what I need. I will not waste my time with you if you are not the person that matters most to me. I will not waste my time with someone who questions me. With someone who questions my heart and my value as a human being.