Holly Riordan

When you love someone, you allow them to feel whatever emotions they’re feeling without accusing them of being overdramatic or emotional.

You keep making changes you think other people want you to make.

You never know how close you are to success. You might feel like you haven’t been making any progress, but that’s not true. Every single day, you’re taking baby steps toward your dreams.

The thought of dating again is scary because you know what heartbreak feels like now. You know how happy relationships can make you – but you also know how miserable breakups can make you.

It’s not rude to set boundaries or walk away from someone who has been hurting you – but others might make you feel bad for putting your foot down.

You aren’t as cowardly as you feel.

Your relationship baggage is not your fault. If someone treated you horribly in the past, it makes sense for you to be skeptical in your future relationships. However, you don’t want a bad breakup to ruin your future relationships.

Date someone who is capable of compromising with you, who will sit down and have a mature conversation when you need to overcome a certain problem.

The problem with listening to your heart over your head is that it can trap you in sticky situations.

You might miss your almost more than actual exes because you never had the chance to get to know your almost intimately. You’ve only seen the best sides of them.

You already know it’s dangerous to compare yourself to others. No two journeys are going to look the same. Every person walks at a different pace.

You shouldn’t stay in the wrong relationship because you’re scared of being alone or because have a long, complicated history together and you feel like you owe them your love.

You always have power. You might not have the type of power that you want – over whether someone specific falls in love with you or whether you’re offered your dream career. But you are never entirely powerless.

The strongest humans aren’t the ones who have everything come easily to them, who have never gone through a single struggle, who have succeeded on their first attempt and have never had a single doubt about themselves.

They should promise to stand by you when you’re struggling. Your person shouldn’t go MIA whenever you’re dealing with a problem and then magically reappear when the seas are calm again.

Even though you might be heartbroken right now, that doesn’t mean you’re going to feel this way forever. And it doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong.

Give up on an almost relationship when you’ve exhausted all your options. Honesty is the key in any relationship – including almost relationships.

Moving in with your person is a huge step. However, sometimes you won’t know whether your person is a good (or horrible) teammate until you’re sharing the same bed and bathroom.