I have always wanted that “twilight, notebook, 50 shades” type of love. That passion, those butterflies, the happiness, the romance. It radiates off of the screen and you can feel it. You feel the tension before the kiss, you feel the sadness and pain when they break up, you feel the excitement and joy when they make up.The screen turns black and the lights turn on. Your fantasy is over and you return to the reality of what love really is.

Love is teamwork: Love is communication: Love is trust: Love is arguments: Love is jealousy: Love is anger.

Love is building a life together. You are supportive of each other. You do not knock each other, but build each other up. Love is building an empire from nothing and doing it as a team. You have the same goals, and you work towards them together. You encourage each other because it brings you joy to watch each other succeed.

Love is talking to each other and not talking at each other. Love is listening to the other person. You listen to their daily annoyances, their family drama, their work struggles, and all that other nonsense. You might not want to hear it, but you know your significant other needs to vent. Love is listening to why your partner is upset with you, and you making an attempt to see it through their eyes.

Love is trusting that you’re partner is doing the right thing when you aren’t looking. Love is not snooping through their phone or trying to catch them in a lie. Love is being able to go to sleep without heaitation knowing that you’re hunny will be out until 3 am.

Love is telling your partner that you are sick of telling them the same thing 100 F*cking times. That you hate how they leave their shoes in the doorway, how they make noodles, what kind of soap they buy. It is the smallest things that lead to that in public grocery store argument over what kind of ketchup to buy.

Love is wanting to punch that girl who just rubbed his arm and told him he’s cute. Love is knowing how incredible your significant other is, and knowing that other people want them too. Love is talking sh*t about that person who wants your babe,  just to make yourself feel better.

Love is so painful, so up and down, so strong. At times you get so angry with the other person. At times you think it shouldn’t have to be so hard. But you love them and it is supposed to be that hard.

It seems like cheating and divorce has become so easy and so acceptable. It is unfortunate that people are no longer willing to put in the time and effort to be together. People “fall in love” with one person to the next. That is not love. That is how convienient someone is for you at the time.

Love can have passion, butterflies, romance, and happiness, but that is not what keeps love going. Hard work is what keeps relationships going. Remembering why you love each other, how far you’ve come, how lost you’d be without them, that is how love stays alive. Love is the fight that you put into loving someone. Love is not a movie, that is not reality.

If you’re not willing to work at it, you’re with the wrong person.