Things I Have Learned Through Relationships

Okay, so, just so y'all know, this is going to be more for girls, and obviously from a girls point of view.  This is my list of things that I have learned through my relationships and unrelationships.  Yes, I just said unrelationships.  No, you don't have to read it all.  You don't have to read it at all!  If you're a guy who wants to read this, go for it though.  It is now going to be in list form.

1. Every person who says, "I love you," doesn't always love you.
2. Sometimes, when you're a girl going through guy problems, it helps to get a guy's perspective from the male humans around you.
3. Sometimes you need to backpedal and that's okay.
4. Guys really don't get hints.  If you want him to put his arm around you, tell him, because he won't get it otherwise.
5. When in doubt, just be friends.
6. Guys can be very manipulative.
7. Words from a guy, who I talked to just today: Don't trust guys.  Words from me: It's okay to trust guys...just not their hormones.  Him:  Yeah, basically.
8. Okay, so, if a guy back pedals, he is going to his little man cave, and you SHOULD NOT follow him there.  He'll come back out when he's ready.  If you just chase him, you will drive him away and look very needy and stuff like that.  I learned that from a guy.
9. If you two had a fight and he made you cry, there's really no reason to tell him that he made you cry, unless he asks, because telling him will just make him feel like crap.
10. Make boundaries AND STICK WITH THEM.  If you don't stick with your boundaries, this is how your relationship will go: "No kisses, at all, just hugs." "Okay, fine, we can kiss, but only on the cheek." "Alright, fine we can kiss on the lips, but we won't makeout.  We'll just kiss hello and goodbye." "Okay, fine we might as well makeout, but we won't get too handsy."  "Alright, being super handsy is pretty fun, so we can do that, we just have to stop if we start getting too turned on."  "Okay, we can get turned on, just as long as we don't, you know, have sex, because we aren't married."  "Well, we can have sex, just as long as we use protection"  "Oops...I'd better tell my boyfriend that I'm pregnant."  Now I'm not saying that that's how it will always go, but it will most often go that direction.  Not good.  Not good at all.  Plus, you will lose the respect of people around you, because it's like when you start exercising, but then you don't stick to it...rather stupid.  Try something like, "Okay, we aren't going to kiss at all until we've been dating a month, then we'll only kiss on the cheek."  "Well, our month is over, so we can kiss on the cheek, and in three more months, we can kiss each other hello and goodbye."  "That three months is over, so we can kiss each other hello and goodbye," and it would just continue like that.  Yes, that was the longest thing I have written on here and probably one of the most important things that I have learned through my relationships and unrelationships.
11. I once heard that in a dating relationship you should only go as far with each other as you would feel comfortable going in front of your parents.  For some people, it's different than others.  Some parents just wouldn't care if their kids made out in front of them.  Some parents don't even want their kid in a dating relationship.  I know it sounds extreme, and it doesn't really work if you're married, but it gives you an idea.
12. Remember:  There are two reasons to be in a relationship--to get married or to break up.  If your reason is to break up, you're not ready to be in a relationship.
13. Talk to God about the whole thing and follow what he says.  WAY easier said than done.  If it was easy to do, I wouldn't have four ex-boyfriends.
14. If you can't be yourself around them, you don't need to be in a relationship with them.
15. Ask your friends for advice, and take this advice.
16. Learn from your mistakes and other people's mistakes.
17. I had another one, but I can't remember it :/

Well, that's stuff.

~Katie :)