5 Uncomfortable Signs You’re Actually Ready For A Real Relationship
You’d rather be one half of the couple at the dinner table than one of the friends grabbing drinks at the bar.
1. Casual hookups don’t appeal to you anymore.
Once upon a time, you were comfortable casually hooking up with someone who you cared about, were attracted to, and got along well with. Now, you can’t even stand the thought of entertaining a half-ass relationship. You’re done giving your precious body, time, and energy to someone who may or may not even call or text you the next day, despite how badly you may want that person and regardless of whether you’re using each other for the same reasons or not. You’d rather focus on yourself until you meet someone who constantly puts in the effort to earn your love instead.
2. You’re turned off from anybody who tries to play games with you.
You value honesty so much that you simply don’t have space in your life for anyone who isn’t going to be real with you from the beginning. You’re sick of playing hard-to-get while impatiently waiting to see who reaches out first. You’re over questioning why someone feels confident enough to walk in and out of your life whenever they goddamn please. You’re done wondering if the person you’re into actually gives a shit about you and how your day went or how well you slept. You’re ready for consistent “good morning” and “good night” texts, and you’re even more ready to hear the words whispered in your ear every morning when you wake up and every night before you fall asleep.
3. You’d rather be one half of the couple at the dinner table than one of the friends grabbing drinks at the bar.
Of course, we all need to enjoy life with friends every once in a while, but that’s not what this is about. You’re beyond ready to spend Friday and Saturday nights with your significant other while your friends are out getting drunk and stressing over guys who haven’t texted them back yet. Rather than talking to random people at the bar, you wish you were sharing your dreams and goals with someone who can experience and commit to these future plans with you. When you go out, you find that you’d rather be the girl over there sitting across a candlelit table from the love of her life. And when you’re done for the night, you wish you could come home to someone who can’t wait to see you instead of an empty, dark apartment.
4. You’ve become so strong by yourself, but you miss sharing a deeper connection.
You’ve done the self-work and integrated the lessons you needed to learn in order to feel whole on your own. But although you’re comfortable in your solitude, it isn’t enough anymore. When you watch your high school friend’s wedding videos and see couples posting about each other on social media, you catch yourself feeling some type of way. And it’s not because you’re hating on them. It’s because you want what they have. Call it jealousy, or call it a longing — you don’t “need” anyone else to make you happy, but you’re tired of being single. You want to be with somebody who proudly shows you off to the world. You want to feel butterflies when you open up your phone to see that the person you’re dating shared a candid photo of you accompanied by a heartfelt caption that expresses how beautiful you are. You’re ready to ride the ups and downs of everyday life with the love and support of someone else, even though you’ve grown so painfully accustomed to doing it alone.
5. You crave more, and you absolutely refuse to settle for less.
You know that you’re ready for a real relationship because, for the first time in a very long time, you need more than what you’ve been getting and how you’ve been feeling. You’re ready to relate to love songs again. You’re ready for someone to inspire you to create art and write poetry again. You’re ready to be vulnerable and open up about your darkest secrets and deepest desires to someone who has actually earned your trust. You’re ready to step out of your comfort zone and take the risks that might just lead to you falling head over heels, crazy, madly, deeply in love. You’re ready for so, so much more, and you’re finally ready to stop accepting anything and everything less than what you truly deserve. 