the more i reflect on my experiences, the more i believe love is a journey and not a sprint. its easy to be into someone at first because of potential and excitement, but often times this is just imagination plus hormones disrupting your status quo life.

if you are looking for a long term relationship, maybe think to yourself how long it took to becomes friends with your best platonic friend. did you know right away they were going to be your best friend? maybe? but for me and i'd venture a lot of people, that friendship had to grow over time. I dont even remember exactly how I met my best friend TBH, it's just blurred into a lifetime of memories, but I probably didn't even think about him as a friend until a few interactions had happened over the course of a few weeks.

so if it takes that long to nurture a regular long term friendship, I think its ridiculous that people expect some kind of instant long term relationship and I'd be wary of a 45 year old who still falls in fake love all the time