This I Believe... Imperfect Love

            Imperfect love is the most beautiful thing anyone can achieve. This I believe more than anything, because a love--be it for a friend, family member, or partner--that stands outside the considered social normality is usually the strangest and best kind of relationship anyone can have. The kind of love where neither person is afraid to say what's on his or her mind, even if it's mean, and where one person will wait for the other while he or she is using the bathroom or dawdling about is something for which one should strive. The strongest relationship I have ever seen was one in which neither person flinched at the other talking about or doing the most socially grotesque of daily tasks, such as shaving, cleaning up messes, or unclogging plumbing.

There are four simple steps to achieve an imperfect love, and they are:

Step one- Be snarky. In a strong and compatible relationship, both people can be completely genuine and at ease with one another, even if that occasionally means making a smart aleck comment about things that one finds annoying. Honesty is imperative for an imperfect love to really shine.

Step two- Control. Control over fears is a huge issue (the biggest fears being those of trust, commitment, and insecurities about oneself). In a strong relationship, one should be able to overcome these fears, and live in confidence that the other person is capable enough to help one move past these insecurities or even help one step out of old shells in which one might've been previously hiding.

Step three- Care. Part of caring for others is letting them care about you. If one tends to compartmentalize like I do, then one needs a person who is happy to listen when it's time to unload. Never forget, though, that this is a two-way street. Furthermore, one should never be afraid to answer questions, "How are you?" or, "Are you okay?" honestly when asked.

Step four- Laugh. Laughing is great for the spirit, and two people that can laugh together can make it through a lot. It sounds cliché, but it's absolutely true. The best relationship one can have is with someone who can still laugh even in the worst of times. Furthermore, one should always seek a relationship in which the other person makes one laugh and vise versa.

            An imperfect love is better than any seemingly "perfect" relationship could be, because it's real, raw, and truly means accepting everything. A friend once said to me, "A true love is the kind where you can pick each others' wedgies and not freak out because they saw you when your hair wasn't laying [sic] right or you had your shirt inside out."  Although she said it as a joke, and generally the idea of grabbing the seat of someone's pants to dislodge a fabric intrusion isn't the sweetest of sentiments, it hit home as something on which to think.

            People all over the world work hard every day of their live to make a perfect, little environment in which they can fit perfect, little people and have perfect, little lives together, but life isn't perfect.  Love isn't perfect.  Someone searching for perfect love will never find true happiness; only stress, worry, and disappointment.  I truly believe that everyone should strive to find their own imperfect love.