I don’t need you to shower me with diamonds and emeralds. I don’t need you to answer every single text I send milliseconds after you receive them. I don’t need you to revolve your entire universe around me.

I’m not asking you to give up your friends or your dreams or your independence. I’m only asking you to treat me the way I deserve to be treated. I’m only asking you to make a commitment and stick to it.

I need you to put a label on our relationship so I am not stuck in the middle, wondering what I mean to you. I need you to introduce me as your girlfriend and bring me home to your family for the holidays. I need you to treat me like your teammate, like your equal, instead of like some overly attached girl who is trying to strip you of your freedom.

I cannot accept mixed signals. I cannot accept excuses about how your last relationship fucked you up and how you aren’t ready to love again. I cannot accept half of your heart.

If you want me in your life, then you need to be there fully. All the way. No half-measures. No almosts.

You need to stay loyal to me. Delete your dating apps. Say goodbye to your booty calls and overly clingy exes. Let the world know that you have decided to settle down, that you are no longer on the market, that you have found the person you’ve been searching for.

You need to make time for me. Rearrange your schedule so we can have our date nights. Lose an hour or two of sleep so you can see me more. You don’t have to cancel plans with your friends at the last second or work less hours to satisfy me. You just have to make an effort to see me whenever your schedule allows it. You just have to try.

I’m not asking for anything crazy. I’m only asking for you to make a commitment to me. Find little ways to show me that I matter to you. That I am the only girl you are interested in seeing.

Don’t confuse me by treating me like the love of your life one day and completely ignoring me the next day. Don’t wait hours to answer my texts and cancel plans with me at the last second. Don’t make me do all of the planning. Don’t make me do all of the heavy lifting. Don’t make me put in all of the effort.

I don’t need you to treat me like a princess. I don’t need you to spoil me rotten. I don’t need you to post a million pictures of me on Instagram and surprise me with vacations overseas.

But I definitely need you to commit. I need you to show me that you are as invested in this relationship as I am. I need you to care. I need you to give a shit about me.