Strong Girls Can Still Fall In Love

Unsplash / Ugar Akdemir

You can enjoy the single life and still have crushes.

You can enjoy being alone and still have moments where all you want to do is crawl into someone’s lap and be held tight while they brush their hands through your hair. 

You can have self-respect and still text someone three times in a row, still stare at your screen for hours waiting for a phone call, still analyze every notification that you receive. 

You can be comfortable on your own and still miss the love of your life when they aren’t around.

You can solve your problems on your own and still call your boyfriend for comfort when you need someone to talk to about how stressed out you’ve been lately.

You can make your own money, pay your own bills, and still accept a boy’s offer to cover the check during dinner.

You can learn how to change your own tires and pump your own gas, and still allow someone to help you when you break down.

You can be strong enough to take care of yourself, but still accept help when you need it.

You can be independent and clingy. You can be strong and needy. You can be an independent woman and still want attention from the love of your life.

It’s okay to admit that you would rather snuggle with your boyfriend on the couch than spend the night by yourself. It’s okay to stop wanting personal space and start hoping a certain person comes closer.

It’s okay to decide that you want to spend the rest of your life alongside someone, that you would rather live with them than live alone.

Falling in love doesn’t make you any less independent. It doesn’t change the fact that you could cook your own meals and pay your own rent and drive your own car.

Entering into a serious relationship doesn’t mean that you’re giving up on yourself, that you don’t think you can handle the world alone. 

You aren’t choosing to be in a relationship because you need one to survive. You’re choosing to be in a relationship because you’ve fallen for someone. Because you found a good enough reason to give up your single status.

Because, even though you’re perfectly happy on your own, you’re even happier with this person.

Remember: You can be proud of yourself and be proud of your boyfriend. You can love your past life as a single woman and still decide to make room for someone else. 

You can be independent and be a lovesick girl who counts down the seconds until her boyfriend comes home from work. You can be a strong independent woman and be someone’s girlfriend.

You don’t have to choose between the two. You can be both. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Holly Riordan is the author of
Severe(d), A Creepy Poetry Collection.
Pre-order your copy here.

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