1. You feel compelled to be loyal.

2. You think of ways you will love them more than you think of the ways you hope they will love you.

3. You start compromising on things you thought you wouldn’t.

4. You’re happy when they are, because they are.

5. There is a sense of peace and ease that comes with the thought of them.

6. You feel challenged to be better.

7. You allow yourself to be vulnerable because you feel accepted unconditionally.

8. All of a sudden, you understand why so many people settle down.

9. You have a newfound understanding of and appreciation for your previously detrimental failed attempts at love.

10. Every part of this person enamors you. This is especially true in the beginning.

11. You keep coming back, no matter how hard it gets (and it will get hard).

12. You start counting the miles between you and the days between your birthdays. You remember what they were wearing the day you met them, what they said their favorite color is, and you start accounting for all the other little, beautiful things you’ve picked up about them, all in vivid detail.

13. You want to tell anybody who will listen of your newfound love (you’re not ashamed to be with this person).

14. Being with them is not about the vanity of having a significant other or an elaborate wedding or someone to talk to when you’re lonely. It’s who they are that keeps you.

Want more articles like this? Check out Brianna Wiest’s book The Truth About Everything here.