10 Things I’d Rather Find In Life Than True Love

From a young age we are taught that all you need in life is true love and you’ll be set. Fairy tales show strangers falling in love with just a few glances (creepy) and “living happily ever after”. Romance novels show the rich girl falling in love with the poor boy and leaving her whole family behind to be with him. How cute.

I’ve personally always thought it was bullsh*t.

Love sounds like fun I guess and maybe one day I’ll find the one who makes my earth stop and my heart beat out of my chest and the whole nine yards (of course, none of that actually sounds positive?). However, I refuse to spend my early twenties looking for true love and you shouldn’t either. Let’s make a pact to utilize our youth and good looks for stuff that actually matters: You in?

10 Things I’d Rather Find In Life Than True Love:

1. A go-to hair style. I want a ‘doo that will look cute and comfortable without spending 35 minutes on it in the morning. I want that text message at 8pm asking me to come out and to be walking out the door at 8:15pm looking like I wasn’t previously laying around bra-less in my oversized sweatshirt. A good hair style is so important in life.

2. A guilty pleasure. Everyone should have a guilty pleasure and everyone should let themselves give in to their guilty pleasure every so often. Mine? Binge watching Gray’s Anatomy well into the morning. Like I know it’s not healthy but I just feel so at peace when I start a Netflix marathon at 10PM and finally go to bed at 3AM. There’s no shame in my GA game.

3. A go-to meal. Not pizza rolls either. A real meal with multiple ingredients that doesn’t require poking holes in the plastic before microwaving. Learn to cook just one meal and pull it out for a girl’s night. Trick? Salmon sounds fancy but wrap that filet in foil with some lemon and BAM! Add some rice and steamed broccoli and you’ve got a healthy, flavorful home-cooked meal with virtually no effort.

4. A healthy hobby. This one is so important. If you’re one of those freaks who enjoy running (kidding!), run your little heart out. Otherwise, try walking, hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, yoga, skating, or any of the many activities that will get your blood flowing and those calories burning.

5. A signature drink. That bud light is fine for a pool party or music festival but everyone should have a signature drink for when they go out. If your drink is bud light, by all means go for it. If not don’t just order that Trash Can cause your friends did. Find a go-to drink that you can handle and actually enjoy. Fresh fruit, club soda, and flavored vodka is a personal favorite for me!

6. A happy place. Very important. Find a place where you can go, sit, and just enjoy being there. Preferably a place you can access easily. Make it a place where you have no bad memories, no connections to a rough past, just happiness. Whether it’s a spot in the woods, your grandpas farm, or the state of Texas (mine!), a happy place will make the bad moments in life a little less bad.

7. A best friend. Just one will do. Multiple would be alright too. Just find someone who you can sit down with and confess your plans to murder your second grade teacher for embarrassing you in front of the whole class. If they will point out flaws in your plan so you can re-evaluate before going to jail, they’re keepers. We all need a shoulder to cry on, someone who will Instagram you passed out drunk in the parking lot, and most importantly someone who accepts you despite your many flaws.

8. A daily routine. This is something I struggle most with. How we all dream to be the one who wakes up at 5:30, goes for a jog, showers, eats breakfast, gets ready for their day, goes to work, healthy mid-day snack, lunch, come home, call mom, etc. But we are human and being responsible every minute of every day is damn near impossible. So fine a routine that works for you… even if it’s just asking the clerk how his day is going when you buy your morning coffee.

9. A role model. Someone who you can look up to, ask for advice, follow their lead in life. This can be your parents, siblings, a teacher, Jennifer Lawrence. Anyone of whom you can rely on to lead you on the right path in life is crucial for success. Find this person and cling to them (don’t actually cling to Jennifer Lawrence, you may get arrested). A role model is not someone you want to get away.

10. Myself. Because honestly, how am I supposed to fall in love with someone else if I really don’t even know who I am?

Maybe one day I’ll find true love. And I hope if that does happen they too enjoy my messy bun while we binge watch Gray’s Anatomy and dig in to my tin-foil salmon while downing Blueberry Spring Waters. But I won’t waste my twenties searching for them. I’ve got a scavenger hunt of life to complete first.