Then I met him. The man who checked every single box. Tall. Check. Good job. Check. Funny. Check. Everything I ever wanted on paper. And you know what? He was awful to me. He made me feel small. He made me feel like I was never enough. And I stayed for way too long because I kept telling myself "but he is perfect on paper".

One day I just asked myself. Am I actually happy or am I just convincing myself I should be? The answer was no. So I walked away and I stopped making lists.

Now I do not care about boxes anymore. I care about how a man treats me when no one is watching. I care about kindness and honesty and showing up. Perfect does not exist. But real does. And I would rather have real than spend my life chasing something that does not exist.

What about you? Are you still holding onto a list or have you figured out what actually matters? 💋

Elena❣️