dating suffers, i think, from the desire that somebody will come to us fully realized so that we can be treated and loved the way we deserve. that’s a very tall order. it’s a frankly insane thing to ask of someone. you hold them to the expectation that they should know, from get, how to communicate hard things to you or how to handle your worst days or know what you need before you need it… who have you met that can do that? even our parents can’t do that. every relationship you have in life necessitates learning the wholeness of another person as best as you can and as it changes so that you can show up for them in the way they deserve. you will never have the love you desire until you learn to wait for somebody to build it, piece by piece, from the ground up with you. you want somebody to come to you fully realized when the person you’d spend the rest of your life with is somebody who’s simply willing to do the work with you.