1. Like you can do anything.

He makes you feel like your dreams are never too big and your goals are never too challenging. He believes in you when you don’t believe in yourself. He wants you to go after the things that you think will never actually happen for you, because he believes that they will. He believes that you have everything it takes to make your biggest dreams your reality and he genuinely wants that for you.

2. Like you can be anything.

He doesn’t make you feel stupid for trying things you’ve never done before just because you want to, and he especially doesn’t make you feel stupid for failing. He tries new things with you, because he wants you to know that it’s never embarrassing to be bad at something, it’s more embarrassing to sit back and be ‘too cool’ to try.

3. Like there’s always room for improvement.

He believes that you can do and be anything, but he also makes you feel like there’s always room for improvement. He doesn’t pressure you to be better, he inspires you to be better, there’s a huge difference. He wants you to be your best, but he still loves you when you’re at your worst. He’s there for you through the lows and he helps bring you out of them.

4. He makes you feel safe.

Not in a knight and shining armor kind of way, but in the kind of way that makes you unafraid of him or his judgement or what he thinks of you. You know he thinks the world of you, and you don’t feel scared of his reaction even when you do mess up. He’s there for you when you’re not perfect, and he makes you feel safe enough to make mistakes without being punished for them. He knows mistakes happen, and when it’s real love, mistakes aren’t held against you.

5. He makes you feel comfortable.

You don’t feel judged for your decisions, and you don’t feel embarrassed about any part of who you are. You can be yourself because there’s enough comfort there to do so. With him, there’s nothing to hide. You both lay it all out there.

6. He makes you feel missed when you’re gone, but that it’s okay to leave.

He doesn’t make you feel bad for doing things that are for yourself, for doing things without him. He doesn’t need to go everywhere and do everything with you. He lets you leave when you want to, and doesn’t use it against you when you come home. He lets you know that he misses you, but he doesn’t make you feel bad about it.

7. He makes you feel beautiful.

Not just when you slip on a slinky dress and wear red lipstick, but when you’re on the couch in your pajamas, with no makeup, no perfume, and he still makes you feel like you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever known. You are the most beautiful thing he’s ever known, and lipstick and mascara doesn’t affect that. He finds beauty in the things you can’t always see. He finds beauty in the way you laugh, in the way you show love to the people who matter, and in the way you make him feel like the luckiest man alive.

8. He makes you more forgiving.

Of yourself and of others. He lets you know that you don’t have to always be so hard on yourself, that you can forgive yourself for messing up, and you don’t have to carry the burden of failure with you for eternity. He makes you realize that sometimes other people will let you down, sometimes you’ll let yourself down, but you can’t let that darken your spirit or prevent you from continuing to love.

9. He makes you feel completely normal when you’re bare.

In the same way that he makes you feel comfortable, he makes you feel completely uninhibited when you’re bare, when it’s just you and you have nothing to hide behind. Normally being bare is something that we try to conceal, we wouldn’t want someone to see the real us, whether it’s physical or personal, whether it’s covering up a pimple, or pretending to like something we don’t actually like, we’re reluctant to show people who we truly are. When it’s real love, being bare comes naturally. When it’s real love you’re not afraid to be yourself and you certainly don’t feel the need to hide any part of who you are.