Know your worth. Realize your potential. Respect your body. Never lose your sense of self, independence or identity.
At this moment in time, you are young. Too young to understand what any of this means. But time is ticking fast and soon you will be all grown up; too eager to dive into the deep end. I’m here to keep your head above the water and also out of the clouds.
One day you will meet someone who you will believe to be truly special. If they have a functioning brain, then they too will know you are one of a kind. They may even tell you that they are in love with you.
Hearing or saying or even trying to fathom the idea of being in love can be very intimidating. It doesn’t matter what age you are.
I urge you to embrace love and not fear it. Because a life without love, is no life at all.
However, in any relationship, there are rules and boundaries that must be set for both parties involved. If someone is not willing to accept and respect your boundaries, they are not worth your time and effort.
When a person truly and genuinely loves another person, they also accept and respect that person’s intellect, ethnicity, religion/non-religion, family, culture, body, values, beliefs, gender, past, future goals, accomplishments, ideals, career, education and economic state. They support that person’s dreams and make them feel good about themselves.
There may be certain things a person may not necessarily like about your life, or certain topics you both may not agree on, and that’s completely normal. No relationship is perfect. In the world of love, one can learn to adapt to particular things for their partner and for the well-being of their relationship (for example, one may not be fond of animals, but their partner owns a pet, so they familiarize themselves with the type of pet or educate themselves on behaviour around pets, etc. It can work the other way too; one might own a pet and their partner could be allergic, so they compromise to find a balance that suits both parties). Of course, there are situations where adapting and accepting something you don’t agree with are not worth exploring, because it harmful to your health and mental well-being – such as substance abuse or drug addiction.
Do not ever compromise your moral values for the sole purpose of being in a relationship. You are worth much more than that. Know your worth. And make sure the person who says they love you, also knows your worth as a human being and as a woman.
The right person will come into your life at the right time. Although many, many times it may appear so but it will be the wrong person disguised as the right person at the most opportune time.
Maybe there won’t be anyone “special” in your life for a very long time, and that’s quite wonderful too. I did say a life without love is no life at all, but that doesn’t mean love comes to us in only one form.
So far, my greatest and most powerful love has been the one I’ve experienced as your mom. It’s the most exhilarating love I’ve ever known, and I’m truly blessed.
The lessons on love don’t end here. I’m 31 years old and still learning. And you will too.
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