17 Things I Learned After Dating My Forever Person

1. Your person is supposed to be your best friend in the world. They are supposed to be someone you like — not just someone you love.

2. The person you choose to spend the rest of your life alongside should not cause drama and bring you stress. They should help you deal with drama and reduce your stress. They should be your place of peace.

3. When you love someone, hurting them hurts you. 

4. When you have a different love language then your partner, you have to learn how to show your affection in a different way because what you want from them is not always the same thing as they want from you. 

5. If you trust you are going to stay together forever, you do not have to rush to get married because you have a lifetime to reach the next milestone.

6. You cannot stop putting effort into your relationship as time passes. You have to put the same amount of energy into your person years down the line as you did on your very first date. You cannot let yourself slack or the relationship could crumble.

7. Even though your person means the world to you, they are not in charge of making you happy. You cannot put that kind of pressure on them. You are in control of your own happiness.

8. Love requires little sacrifices every single day — but it should never require you to give up the big things like your career aspirations.

9. When you are in a committed relationship, you can never act single. 

10. You should never take someone for granted, walk all over them, or push them to their limits because you are comfortable with them and confident they are not going anywhere. You should never use their feelings for you against them.

11. The little things, like leaving love notes around the house and picking up an extra cup of coffee on the way home, matter so much more than grand gestures.

12. You are never too old to find your forever person so do not dream of settling.

13. Love goes hand-in-hand with acceptance. Your person should never expect you to change. However, they should assist in your growth.

14.The right person will not disrespect you, not even in the middle of your worst fights.

15. You can have a healthy relationship and a thriving career at the same time. You do not have to neglect one area of your life in order to enhance another area. You just have to learn how to manage your time well.

16. Even the best relationships fall into ruts so you should not run away at the first signs of trouble. If you respect each other, appreciate each other, support each other, and are willing to put energy into making things exciting again, then everything will work out.

17. Even though it seems like most couples break up only months after getting to know each other and most marriages end in divorce after only a few years, some relationships will last. Some people will stay together forever. You could be one of them.