5 Bits Of Relationship Advice To The Singles!!!

Here are 5 bits of relationship wisdom that my married self would like to tell my single self (if she would able to read the Future Frisky and learn a few things):

1. The right guy isn’t going to see you as a liability. All of us carry around reasons in our head for why no one should ever love us, date us, or marry us. We do this whether we’re single or coupled or, heck, maybe even married. Some of the reasons are wounds from our childhood, some are wounds from past relationships, and some are wounds from our own neuroses. One of the reasons I knew Kale was right for me was that every time I shared something new that I worried might scare him off, it actually made us closer. Nothing scared him off. There’s a huge amount of trust involved in telling someone about your s*xual preferences, or family’s alcoholism and drug addiction, or your student loan debt, and them not only sticking around but saying, “I still like you — hey, I think I like you even more because you handle your shit!” The payoff for your vulnerability is that you are bonded to someone who knows everything about you, including the deep dark stuff you hide in the corners. True acceptance is really the cornerstone of love and makes the relationship strong.

2. Men who insist on you being really “feminine” oftentimes really just want you to be weak. Be wary of men who complain about women not being “feminine” enough and especially wary of men who want you to be more “feminine.” They might couch it by saying they wish you wore more dresses (or more makeup, or whatever) but I’ve come to the conclusion these sorts of men really want you to be weak. They don’t actually care whether you wear a dress or not. They care that you don’t threaten them. Some guys see femininity as weakness or passivity and they want you to display it as proof. But the right guy will make you feel really feminine if you yourself feel really feminine. You won’t feel the obligation to put on eyeliner, or something, to play act at femininity as a twisted, f**ked up performance for him.

3. You are kinda involved in the other person’s family, too. I didn’t realize while I was dating how much a person’s family and family problems impact their relationship. This is especially true for men who refuse to acknowledge or deal with their problems with a therapist. I dated guys who had bad divorces and messy relationships with their exes. I dated guys with severe mommy issues and guys with severe daddy issues. I dated guys whose parents were unfaithful and torn apart, or on the brink of splitting up, and they had a lot of resentment and fear. When I was dating these guys, I reluctantly accepted that their family’s shit was stuff I was going to have to deal with, even though sometimes it was stuff that brought me a lot of anxiety (like the ex with the messy divorce). I also reluctantly accepted that these guys were so justifiably hurt, angry and resentful, but refused to examine their feelings. That’s just the way it is, I thought. I’m glad that I ended these relationships when I did because the breakups came as a huge relief. So the opposite side of the coin for what I just wrote in #1 is true as well: you won’t see the right guy as a liability, either.

4. Trying to help other people help themselves rarely works. For better or for worse, I am the Queen Of Adopting Wounded Birds. I have a lot of concern and empathy for people I care about, so I try to help solve their problems when I genuinely think I can help. Sounds nice, right? Noble, even. Well, not really — in fact, some people find that dynamic downright annoying and almost everyone doesn’t want help. They want to do things themselves (except — spoiler alert! — oftentimes they don’t want to do jack shit). Overall, I wish I had gotten less involved in other people’s mental health shit. I do genuinely believe that certain ex-boyfriends could have benefitted from seeing a therapist, or in one case, perhaps even going on anti-anxiety medication. But it’s not my place to try to get anyone to do anything they don’t want to do. All you can do is convey your needs and fears to someone; they will do with that information what they choose. You’re just a passenger along for the ride.

5. Don’t settle. Really, don’t. ”I can do better than this” is toxic for a relationship. It’s toxic to the person feeling it and it’s toxic for the other person. We should all be partnered, for the short-term and the long-term, for people who we feel just right about being with. Don’t stay with someone who you see as a liability; don’t be with someone who you think isn’t good enough for you.