You’re tired of rushing through love, feeling pressure for your relationships to turn into engagements and your engagements to blossom into marriages. You simply crave love itself, a slow, steady adoration that will gradually kindle a bright flame. Still, you race into every relationship, giving away bits and pieces of yourself out of anxiety alone, wondering if anyone will be willing to take love one step at a time as they hold your hand.

But no matter the pressure, the stress, and the anxiety you face date someone who will wait for you.

Date someone who will take love slowly. They’ll capture your heart bit by bit, falling deeply alongside you day by day. They’ll savor each day with you, soaking up each small, beautiful memory, refusing to reach too far into the future for answers. They’ll release their grip on the notion that a steady love can never bloom into a passionate love story, thoughtfully penning each chapter as they hold your hand.

Date someone who will respect your preferences. They’ll listen to your every word, internalizing your needs and making them their own. They’ll come to understand your desires, learning the stories behind every wish, living your needs with you. They’ll learn to love you on your own time, progressing with you at your own pace because they know true love is worth the wait.

Date someone who will grow with you. They’ll commit to self-improvement alongside you, gradually leaning into the potential you share as they hold your hand. They’ll watch you transform from blissfully young and naive to wise and deeply understanding as they do the same. They’ll understand that readiness to move forward in life develops with time and circumstance, watching your love blossom as you both take small steps into the future together.

Date someone who will wait for you, someone who is eager to love you at every stage. Together, you will develop a bond far deeper than hasty love — a rich, undeniable connection that will last a lifetime.