I don’t have a whole lot of experience being in a relationship. And I have no experience being in a good relationship. I’ve dated a lot of guys, spent about five minutes feeling giddy with each one, and then quickly lost interest, repeat, repeat, repeat. I don’t know if there is a good way to describe my dating habits… but it hasn’t really been pretty. I’m going on 23 and have never been in a consistent relationship for more than three months. (Yes, there was that guy I wrote about a couple weeks ago who stuck around for nearly two years…. but my relationship with him was far from consistent.)

For the most part, I feel like I’ve experienced more in my life than a lot of (or even most) other 22-year-olds. But when it comes to lasting relationships…. FAIL. Blame it on my “location anxiety” (which is actually a term coined by my new boyfriend) or the fact that I absolutely refuse to settle for less than I know I deserve. I guess it could be blamed on both. It’s hard to have a long lasting relationship when you’re never in the same place for more than a few months time. But I feel like part of the reason I’ve moved around so much is because I haven’t been in a relationship that I was completely happy with, and if I would have been then I probably wouldn’t have moved so many times. This is why I point my finger at my high expectations. I’m not into that whole “Mr. Right Now” thing that so many girls go for. I don’t want to spend my time and effort in a relationship that is going nowhere.

Instead… I have high expectations. This is not to say that the guy has to be perfect. In fact, I don’t like perfect. Guys who are perfect make my own imperfections so much more evident, and I’d rather not focus on those types of things. My high expectations have everything to do with how I feel, how I am treated, and how content I am. I want to feel giddy every single time I’m going to see him, not just for the first week. I want to like him so much that I talk/gush about him to anyone and everyone who will listen. I want to feel like he likes me as much as I like him… and I want him to tell me so I don’t have to guess. I want to be able to introduce him to all of my friends and family and already know that they are going to love him. I want him to call me when he says he will, and because he wants to… not because he feels like he should. I want to feel comfortable enough with him that I don’t have to be all made-up every time he’s around. He should like me no matter how good or bad I look. I don’t want there to be any secrets between him and I. We should be able to trust each other completely.

If I don’t have all of that and more… the relationship is a waste of my time. I don’t dwell. I don’t pretend that there’s more there than there is. I just move on…

But just so all of you know, I have all of that and more right now. So much more, in fact. I’m probably as happy as I’ve been ever with my boyfriend (who reads this blog… hey P!) He’s been in my life for over a year, and we have spent hundreds of hours talking and learning everything there is to know about each other. We were friends before we were a couple. We stayed close the entire time I was living in California. And now that we’re together, I like him a little more every single time I see him. (Are you blushing yet?)

I wanted to write about this today because not only is he a huge part of my life now, but because I have been hearing so many stories lately of girls settling for guys who suck. My roommates complain when guys don’t call when they said they would. Friends tell me how they really aren’t into the guy they are dating, but they just like having someone to cuddle with. Couples have been breaking up due to a lack of trust. And after hearing all of that… I can’t help but feel like I am so extremely lucky to not be going through any of it.

So maybe it isn’t ideal that I don’t have a lot of relationship experience. I might not always know what to do or how to deal with problems that arise. But regardless, I’m happy that I have never settled for less than I deserve. And trust me… it is so much better to have exactly what you want.