Don’t Date Him Just Because You’re Lonely

Don’t date him just because you’re lonely. Don’t sit through hours of conversation over coffee that feels forced and uneventful. Don’t agree to dinners you don’t feel ecstatic to go to. Don’t say “yes” just to fill up your time and the space beside you in your bed.

Don’t date him just because you miss good morning texts and goodnight kisses. They’ll be there, but they won’t excite you. Don’t date him so your family will stop asking you to bring a plus one or so you’ll have an easy date to parties. He’ll go with you, but you’ll still feel alone.

Don’t date him just because you’re afraid you won’t find someone else. Because darling, there will always be someone else — you just don’t know they’re there. So don’t waste your time with someone who doesn’t make you feel electric, who doesn’t make you swell with happiness every time you open your eyes and see him lying beside you.

And most importantly, don’t settle. Don’t laugh at his jokes if you don’t think they’re funny, and don’t do things you hate to do just because he wants to, and don’t pretend someone makes you happy when all they do is placate you. Don’t lower your standards or compromise your feelings or force yourself to feel something you don’t. Don’t waste your energy trying to convince yourself you’re not. Because when you’re with the right person, everything else will feel effortless — the hours of conversation, the laughter, the good morning texts and goodnight kisses. And that’s the only thing worth your time and energy.

So don’t be with the person who doesn’t make the universe feel like its falling into place. Don’t be with someone who doesn’t make you smile with just a mention of their name. Don’t be with someone who doesn’t run through your mind every minute of the day, who doesn’t make you glance at your phone throughout the day in anticipation. Don’t be with someone who doesn’t make the ordinary feel extraordinary.

Don’t date him just because he makes you feel less lonely, because if you do, you might miss out on the person who makes you feel everything else.