Being Loved the Right Way Changes You

I used to think love was supposed to feel complicated.

I thought you were supposed to constantly wonder where you stood with someone, overthink their words, question their feelings, or feel like you had to work for their attention. I thought that was just what relationships were sometimes.

But being loved the right way has taught me something completely different.

The right kind of love brings you peace.

When someone genuinely loves you, you don't have to constantly question whether they care. their actions speak for themselves. You feel save being yourself around them. You don't feel like you have to change who you are just to keep them interested.

I think being loved the right way can change how you see yourself.

You start becoming softer, happier, and more confident. You start realizing that you deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. You stop accepting the bare minimum because you've experienced what it feels like to be genuinely appreciated.

But there's another part of it that I think is just as important.

You start to love yourself differently too.

Sometimes the way someone loves you reminds you of the way you should have been loving yourself all along.

You realize that you deserve patience. You deserve reassurance. You deserve someone who listens. You deserve someone who chooses you without making you beg to be chosen.

And being loved correctly doesn't mean your relationship will be perfect. There will still be disagreements, bad days, misunderstandings, and moments here you don't see eye to eye.

The difference is that there's still respect underneath it all. You don't have to lose yourself to keep someone. You can simply be you.

And maybe that's one of the most beautiful things about finding the right kind of love: It doesn't make you feel like you're finally good enough for someone else.

It makes you realize that you were always enough.

- DeAnna