Find What You Deserve, But Don’t Flaunt it

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There are few things in this world more enjoyable than indulging in your guilty pleasures. Order takeout from your favorite burger place, pull on those sweatpants, and pop in your favorite RomCom because no one can stand between you and your love of James Marsden. As much as it kills me to admit it, one of my awful guilty pleasures is reading those insanely cheesy articles about “finding the man you deserve” and “why you shouldn’t settle” and “your prince charming is out there.” Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic, or maybe I’m hoping for the one day I find a guy who satisfies all of these impossible requirements. But what happens when you do find the prince charming that crosses your mind every time you skim a fantastical article?

It seems as though whenever a girl does find her “prince charming”, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While she may seem ecstatic about discovering her soul mate, others are quick to criticize. She may post religiously on every #mcm or recall a particular memory on #tbt, but all of the Instagram posts filled with the love of her life are often accompanied by disgust and jealousy from viewers.

Never in a million years did I think I would consistently post about any significant other. The thought absolutely appalled me. For one, with a 60% girl to 40% guy ratio at my university, it would be damn near impossible to find any prince charming to return my glass slipper. I despised every happy girl in a successful relationship and scoffed at every elated post. I would always wonder, if you’re that happy in a relationship, why do you have to PROVE it to everyone around you?

About a year ago, I decided to go grab dinner with one of my guy friends. Although we didn’t know each other extremely well, the conversation flowed easily and time flew by. Before I knew it, I was falling in love with him from our very first date. The rest is history and today I can honestly say I know the meaning of true love. Every article I’ve read, every list that has been posted, any requirement that has ever been set for the perfect guy is represented in his amazing personality.

When you find true love, it is all consuming. You go to sleep thinking about them, dream about them, and wake up wondering how they are. Everything you do revolves around them, not because it has to or you’re trying to please them, but because it’s what feeds your happiness. Nothing feels better than doing everything you can for the one you love and once you find them, it feels like nothing else in the world matters.

As young women, we are continuously reminded that we should search for the perfect man, but when we find him we are supposed to keep it to ourselves with risk of being “too obsessed” or “not having any other friends.” It’s a shame that when we find the one thing we have spent our lives searching for, we can’t proudly present it to the world without fear of getting judged. I have so many incredible moments with the man of my dreams that I love to post on any social media outlet. I am proud of the man I have found and in all honesty, I’m going to brag. I’m going to brag about finding the most incredible guy in the world because I will never truly explain how lucky I am.

If we keep stressing the importance of finding the ideal guy, we must learn to accept the social media overload. Let’s stop judging the girls who are so happy in their relationship that they want to post about it everyday. Isn’t that what we want? Pure simply joy? A passionate relationship that makes the world green with envy? I think it’s about time we learn to share in the happiness of others, and use them as hope. Hope that one day, we can all be that obnoxious couple on social media.