She has a support system that continues to thrive with or without you.

She’s not usually in a relationship, and her life has been fulfilling without one, which is partly because she has a fantastic support system. Her friends and family give her the true love she hasn’t yet found in a partner, and you have to understand that you’re an addition to that support system, not the foundation. It doesn’t lessen your importance, it just distinguishes how your importance fits into her life.

She is one complete person.

You are not her other half, and she is not yours. She sees you as your own complete person just the way she sees herself as one. This is not an insult; it is a compliment, and she admires your security, so respect hers in return.

You will not be the only person she loves.

She has plenty of love in her life between friends and family, and even though it is not romantic, you will find it competes with yours. Do not compete for her affection because it is not a competition. She has various forms of love and they cannot be measured. Her love for you is incomparable to the love she has for anyone else; that doesn’t mean it is better or worse, but it is wholly unique from any other love she has.

She has a passion that she is extremely dedicated to.

Whether it is her career, a hobby, or simply something that keeps her sanity intact, there is something in her life that she is purely passionate about, and she had that passion before she met you. You will most likely want to be apart of it, and she might want to make you apart of it too, but if you’re expecting her to tone it down simply because you’re in her life, you’ll be left disappointed. She’s not trying to say she doesn’t have time for you, she’s trying to find the balance, and you have to give her time to find that equilibrium.

She values your trust, and knows how to be faithful.

Just because she’s been single forever, doesn’t mean she’s incapable of being loyal. She is a trustworthy person, especially to those who are close to her, and that includes you.

She will enjoy her alone time, but she doesn’t want you to make her feel lonely.

She is used to being on her own, so alone time is what she knows best, but she also wants to know you care about her. Her not going out with you on a Friday night isn’t her way of blowing you off, it’s her way of recuperating. Don’t take it personally if she wants to be left alone, and don’t think it means she wants you to be distant. Being alone and feeling alone, in her mind, are two different things. She doesn’t want to feel alone when she’s with you.

She needs you to take things slow.

For her to truly know how she feels about you, she cannot be rushed. She hasn’t had a lot of relationships in the past, so she isn’t a professional at recognizing her feelings. She knows lust, but love she is a stranger to, so give her time.