Back when I first starting seeing my boyfriend, I was a typical little girl in lust. I had no idea what falling in love was. I would stay up with him until all hours of the night, and still manage to be up, showered and dressed cute the next morning. I wouldn't dare let him see me without my make-up on. Fast forward to today, now that we're living together and I haven't touched my cosmetic bag in days. I am no longer a little girl in lust. I am now a woman in love.

That man who first I met, hunted me down and chased me like a guy on the prowl. He pulled out all the stops, bought me flowers and opened car doors. He used to try and cover up anytime he farted by lighting a cigarette to mask the smell. This morning he pooped with the bathroom door open. He is no longer a guy on the prowl. He is now a man in love.

The truth is, until this point in my life, I never really knew what falling in love was. If I'm being honest, I wasn't even sure I believed in it. In my opinion falling in love was something from storybooks with glass slippers and fairy godmothers.

Now I know that I was wrong. Falling in love isn't some make-believe fairytale. It's so much more.

Falling in love isn't about being something that someone may want you to be. It's about being the best version of yourself. It's not about being perfect but always trying to better who you are, for this person who deserves it all. It's making a conscious effort to not be an asshole.

Falling in love is acceptance. It's choosing to love every part of someone else, ignoring their flaws and forgiving them for their mistakes. It's about seeing someone at their absolute worst and loving them even more than you would at their absolute best. It's holding back their hair and rubbing their back when the stomach bug has your love praying to the porcelain gods.

Falling in love is making an effort and going the extra mile. It's about doing things just to appease your mate. It's changing the empty toilet paper roll without being asked, or suffering through a movie you have no desire to see. It's not letting too many days go by without doing your hair and dressing up sexy for a date night.

Falling in love is about friendship and liking each other. It's about enjoying your time spent together regardless of where you are or what you're doing. It's spending Saturday night at home, In bed, eating junk food. It's wasting a summer day away at the beach, getting drunk. It's laughing to the point your stomachs ache.

Falling in love is about passion and want and desire. It's letting someone see the most intimate side of you. It's giving someone your body and realizing that this is how sex is supposed to feel. It's trusting someone else enough to share with them your weirdest fantasies or sexting a topless photo on a particularly good boob day.

Falling in love is becoming a team. It's about tackling the world together on the same side. It's backing each other up and being their best defense. It's coming together as a single unit with the same ultimate goal at hand. It's standing beside each other through defeat and lending a hand when one of you drops the ball.

Falling in love is about loyalty. It's about being in your partner's corner at all times. It's about making them that one person who comes before all else. It's an allegiance, a commitment to always support one another, even when you can't stand the sight of them.

Especially when you can't stand the sight if them.

Yet, you still can't look away.

Thank you for making me a believer.