Author: RC

She can be a lot to handle. She talks too loud, too fast, and usually too much. She tells extremely long-winded stories and ends up distracting herself.

And she laughs so hard at her own jokes that nobody else even understands what she’s saying.

She can be messy and emotional and sassy and stubborn as a mule. 

She runs on caffeine and sometimes stretches herself way too thin, while other times she’s lazier than life calls her to be. 

She’s overly organized and an extreme perfectionist. She’s hard on herself and often on those she cares about, and she sometimes (most times) is too tired to throw on anything besides leggings and toss her hair in a bun. 

She’s not always cute. She’s not always funny. She’s not always picture perfect and she’s never going to be. 

But she’s also talented and smart and witty and sarcastic and she'll make you laugh at her own stupidity even on her worst day.

She’s loyal to a fault and she’s a damn good friend. She’s reliable and compassionate and she’s got the biggest heart of anyone you'll ever meet. 

She’s strong and independent and she knows how to dust herself off and yank herself up by the bootstraps even when most people would understand if she just gave up. 

She gets creative when life roughs her up and she tries her hardest at everything she does. 

And there is no one else out there like her.

So, no, maybe her pictures don't get as many 'likes' as someone else’s, and maybe her laugh is a little too loud. Maybe she’s not the most graceful or the most popular, and maybe she’s not everyone's cup of tea. 

But she’s always, definitely worth the trouble. 

For more from rc, visit her writer's page here. 

We've all seen our fair share of douche canoes and probably even dated a few of them. Sometimes you love to hate them, other times you just hate to love them. But either way you just usually don't even understand them.

1. The Nice Guy

This one is dangerous because he seems so, well, nice. 

He's lighthearted and chill and seems like such great boyfriend material because nothing ever gets him too riled up. 

He's never angry, he's respectful and trustworthy, and such a breath of fresh air compared to your previous asshole boyfriend. 

But on the flip side, what happens when you need someone to motivate you? When you need something deeper than the surface-level, life-is-a-basket-of-rainbows conversations? 

Where is the passion? 

On top of being a total snooze, this guy just won't be there to challenge you or help you grow. He'll back down when life gets tough because he can't handle confrontation and you'll be on your own. 

2. The Fuckboy

Ah, the most obvious of douchebags. 

He wears brightly colored shorts and backward snapback hats, drives a car that his parents bought him, and he knows his best selfie angle better than he knows the alphabet.

Long story short, he'll cheat on you, but it won't technically be cheating because he never officially dated you, right?

3. The Man-Child

He's five to ten years older than you, but you're about five billion times more mature. 

He stays out drinking later than you did in college and he blows off all your plans at the last minute if he even bothered to make any. 

He also tries to be cool by wearing hipster glasses that he doesn't need to hide his crows feet. 

And his texts always come across as creepy, making you wonder if he's actually still drunk or just really thinks that 'L.O.L.' has to be capitalized and punctuated like a real acronym. 

4. The Couch Potato 

This dude only leaves his room to get food or use the restroom. 

He plays Xbox more often than he blinks and Netflix is his bread and butter. 

He may seem like a nice guy that you'd clearly never have to worry about leaving you, but he's also just plain lazy.

He lacks ambition and the desire to create a life for himself, let alone the two of you. Not to mention you'll probably have a hard time getting any quality time with him for fear of breaking eye contact with his television.

5. The Muscle Head 

He's smoking hot, super charming, and seems super ambitious. 

And hey, he'll be a great influence to get your butt to the gym, right?

Maybe. But he's also banging every girl he comes into contact with and probably has as many STDs and cases of athlete's foot as he does protein shakes. 

His rock hard abs mixed with his killer confidence can be attractive, but when his ego rears its ugly head you'll be less than impressed. 

6. The Wanderer 

He wears skinny jeans and beanies even when it's eighty degrees out and travels all over the place with money he doesn't have.

He claims he's just adventurous and a free spirit, that he's just still figuring out who he is and exploring new things. 

But in reality, a land this guy is unfamiliar with, he's just afraid of commitment and he won't ever settle down with you. 

The truth is that there are hundreds of types of douchebags out there, and some who even fit a combination of these profiles. 

But even the best guys can have douchey qualities, so you just have to pick your poison and love the one you choose. 

For more from rc, visit her writer's page here. 

Okay, so here’s the situation. 

A girl and guy have been friends for a while, and one day he asks her out. She turns him down because she doesn’t have feelings like that for him. He ends the friendship because he doesn’t want to be in anyone’s ‘friend zone.’ 

Anyone else see a problem here? Where has maturity gone in this day and age? The whole concept of the ‘friend zone’ makes me cringe.

The entire idea that my friendship is not good enough for you is offensive. You think being turned down for a date is insulting? How do you think I feel knowing that once with sex with me is off the table, I am no longer wanted or valued by you. 

It’s fine to be frustrated or sad when someone doesn’t return your romantic feelings, it’s completely normal and understandable.

Since when did being just friends with me become a death sentence to your manhood?

Did you ever stop to think that having someone like me in your corner and having a close bond with someone you admire is nothing to be dissatisfied with?

My friendship is not just a pity offer. 

If I didn’t love or value you as a person, I wouldn’t bother trying to be your friend. So don’t think that just because you’re in some made up, ridiculous place known as the ‘friend zone,’ doesn’t mean I think any less of you as a person.

If I make a genuine effort to be in your life, why can’t that be enough?

It should be.

Why isn’t it okay to want to build a foundation of trust and friendship and love, with or without the intention of dating?

 I literally don’t understand.

Whose idea was it to bring such a negative connotation to friendship anyway?

It’s wrong, and proponents of this idea need to realize the damage they’re causing to the long-standing foundation that this world was built on— friendship.

For more from rc, visit her writer’s page here. 

I’m the girl you’ll swear you’re over until you pass someone wearing the same perfume I used to wear or catch a glimpse of someone’s hair that looks like mine and suddenly you’ll be weak in the knees.

I’m the one you’ll tell everybody you hate, just to try and convince yourself that it’s true. I’ll consume every overanalyzed, four-in-the-morning thought until you decide that sleep is overrated and pour yourself a cup of coffee instead. 

You’ll teeter between calling me “the one that got away” and “a raging bitch” because even though your chest is so empty from where my head used to lay on it, you still somehow can’t breathe. 

I’m the rainy days that make you sad and the sunny blue sky that clears it all away. I’m the reason you smile randomly in the middle of the day and the name that consumes your empty head when you zone out.

I’m the one thing you wish you could stop thinking about, but are terrified to forget. 

It probably sucks to realize I was everything you needed but you just weren’t man enough to handle my love. 

You’ll pray that this personal hell you’re living in can’t be how our stories ends, but it is. It so is.

Because everything that you’re feeling right now is exactly you made me feel when we were still together. 

And that’s just the price you pay for throwing away the one who loved you so massively, so entirely, that you’ll never find another like me. 

So just remember, you did this. 

For more from rc, visit her writer’s page here.  

Would I even be your ride or die if I only told you what you wanted to hear? If I let you make all these stupid decisions (sorry not sorry) without telling you it's going to blow up in your face, would that even be a friendship?

No, I don't think so either. 

All I want to do is protect you and I know that sometimes I can come off as a lot more tough than love, but it's only because I want the absolute best for you. 

I want you to be the happiest you can be and have the life I know you deserve, not to get your dreams crushed or your heart broken by some stupid boy.

So if I even catch an inkling of him taking advantage of your love, of your kindness, of your incredibly big heart… you know I'm going to call him out on it. 

And if I see you get caught up with some bad influences you call a 'friend' I'm going to warn you she's bad news. But just know, my warning isn't me telling you you're not allowed to see him or you're not allowed to be friends with her.

Because that's also not what real friends do. I'm trying to help you see the big picture because from a step back I can see it, and it's not lookin' so good. 

This is why I refuse to only tell you what you want to hear instead of what you need to hear. Because I literally love you so much.

I know that means that you may not like me sometimes, but I also know that being your confidant doesn't mean I should always agree with you. I also know you're a big girl and you need to learn from your own mistakes… Lord knows I did.

But it's so hard to just sit on the sidelines and watch you stumble instead of running up to catch you before you fall.

So please don't push me away when I speak up because I promise that everything I say and do only comes from a place of love – a love so deep I couldn't possibly put it into words.

And always remember that when you inevitably fall on your face too, I'll be here. Not with an 'I told you so' but with open arms and ice cream and a game plan to make it all better.

For more from rc, visit her writer's page here.

Any Gilmore Girls fan knows that Paris Gellar was always the fiercest character on screen. She never failed to keep things quippy with her epic one-liners and always knew how to put people in their place. 

More often than not, Paris also ended up being one of the most relatable characters. The more reruns you watch, the more you realize that there's a Paris Gellar quote for just about any life situation:

1. When someone asks you a stupid question:
"Is it raining?"

"No, it's National Baptism Day. Tie your tubes, idiot!"

2. For that one friend who always needs attention:
"If you need some love get a hooker."

3. When you're hungry af:
"I ate four meals in two hours."

4. When you're late to a party:
"Well, we had to stop and eat first in case the food here sucked."

5. When worked sucked and you are absolutely done:
"I am not cut out to deal with people."

6. When someone wakes you up for no good reason:
"Are you asleep? Can I ask you a question?"

"Bite me."

7. When you realize how much guys suck:
"No men, just lots and lots of Chinese food."

8. When you can't even find a reason for that douche to exist:
"You offer nothing to women or the world in general!"

9. When your boss just keeps droning on and on…and on some more:
"Was the last time you had an interesting thought when you considered flinging yourself off a building?"

10. When someone tells you to "chill out":
"Have I ever been mistaken for a patient person?"

11. When your ex decides to text you out of the blue:
"I already wrote his name in my revenge notebook."

12. When it's flu season:
"Sick people freak me out."

13. When she summed up your Saturday night plans:
"I ate a family-sized bag of potato chips and went to bed at seven-thirty."

For more from rc, visit her writer's page here.  

I spent so many years believing that I was ready for real, serious love and marriage and everything that I thought I deserved. So I gave all of myself to people who sucked the life out of me. 

And I could never understand why it kept happening. Why doesn’t anyone treat me the way I deserve?

But the truth was that I wasn’t actually ready for all of those things. I didn’t have what it took to commit to someone, despite how hard I tried, because I wasn’t a strong individual. 

I allowed my identity to be ruled by whoever stepped up to take advantage of my malleable heart.

My love may have been real and kind and unconditional, but it was still selfish because I was pouring everything into someone else in hopes that they would fill me up in return.

I loved without boundaries, and that is the worst, most immature way to love someone.  

I finally learned that your identity can’t be found in anybody else. You can’t find your heart in anyone else’s because a successful relationship stems from two individually established people. 

A successful relationship is a living, breathing entity that deserves two people willing to bend and compromise, but who are also firmly rooted in their own identity. I finally realized that I couldn’t spend forever asking someone else to be enough for both themselves and me.

So when I met him, I was unsure. 

I was afraid and I questioned if this was right because he was so different. But I realized that he was different because I was finally different.

He wasn’t the heated arguments every night that I had grown accustomed to, or the lust so intoxicating that I couldn’t see straight. He wasn’t the mysterious guy with a questionable reputation or the guy that sent mascara streams down my cheeks.

He didn’t create the infatuation that I was use to inside me. But that’s because no couple built to last could sustain that kind of passion.

And if it hadn’t been for the all of the burned out flames of my past, I don’t think I would have been ready for him. I certainly couldn’t have loved him the way he deserved to be loved.

Most people beg for a fiery, passionate soulmate, but I am eternally grateful for the steadfast love and respect that he brings me. My heart is finally content with him in a way I never would have known, had I not taken the time to create in myself the intense stability that I searched for in too many others. 

For more from rc, visit her writer’s page here.  

Surprise, surprise. Asking her out was actually the easy part. Once you have her and after that honeymoon phase ends, you can get more and more content. You might start to allow yourself to forget how lucky you are that she chose you and that she continues to choose you.

The downward spiral that follows from not appreciating every minute you have with your significant other, may seem inevitable. But the truth is that keeping the flame burning isn't that tricky if you just remember what you've got in front of you. 

1. Tell her she's beautiful every chance that you get.

2. Never stop telling her that she's perfect. More importantly, never stop believing it.

3. Don't ever start taking her for granted. Treasure her every single day. 

4. Kiss her forehead.

5. Look into her eyes and constantly remind yourself why you fell in love with her.

6. Make sure she knows you appreciate all that she is and all that she does. 

7. Don't ever make her feel insecure. Guard her heart and remember that her trust is a precious gift she's given you.

8. Always put her first, make her your main priority.

9. Go out of your way to help her when she's feeling overwhelmed. 

10. Never walk away from her during an argument and never go to bed angry.

11. Never stop trying to impress her.

12. Remind her that all the flaws she complains about are beautiful to you.

13. Wipe her tears when she's sad and do everything you can to put a smile back on her face.

14. Keep her on her toes. Surprise her with flowers just because and take her on spontaneous adventures.

15. Never stop chasing her. 

16. Remember the little things she tells you about, they're important to her so make them important to you.

17. Don't forget that she is, first and foremost, your best friend.

18. Make her laugh every single day, and bring as much happiness to her as you can.

19. Always hold her hand in public so she feels safe and grounded.

20. Never put your time with her on the backburner. 

21. Tell her how much she means to you as often as you can.

22. Treat her with respect. She is your equal and your partner.

23. Never keep secrets, no matter how small they seem, share everything with her.

24. Make opening doors for her a habit, this small gesture is the least you can do to make her feel special.

25. Remain her biggest fan and encourage her to chase her dreams.

26. Protect her, and make her feel protected. Be her rock.

27. Always keep your love stronger than your pride.

28. Ask her about her day and actually listen, because it really is the little things.

29. Be a leader when she needs one.

30. Don't ditch her for your friends.

31. Make romantic plans with her because showing effort is key. 

32. Above all, just always make her feel special, no matter how you do it.

33. Pursue her heart daily. Just because she said yes to you once doesn't mean she'll keep saying it. Give her a reason to. Give her 33 reasons to. Make her choose you every day.

All my life I've believed that I just 'happened' to fall for all the wrong guys. I always date the heartless jerk, not the sweet one who deserves the world. But maybe, just maybe, some part of me knew exactly what I was doing.

Dating the wrong guy was never as intimidating because I knew what to expect from him. 

I already knew how it would play out: they were going to hurt me and I never had to worry about being the one hurting someone else. When things ended, I never had to consider the possibility that any of it was my fault. 

So, the thought of me trying to love you is terrifying. What if I get hurt? What if I screw up? What if you get hurt and it's all my fault? 

I couldn't live with myself if I hurt someone as wonderful as you.

Maybe that sounds like a cop-out, just an easy excuse, but I swear it's the truth. I've gotten so good at forgiving people who hurt me, but I've never been good at forgiving myself for anything at all.

I don't think I can let you fall for me because I can't be responsible for breaking your heart. I can't allow you to take on all of my baggage and let it tear you apart.

Believe me, I'd love to let you convince me that it'll all be okay. I want nothing more than to love you forever. But if I do, I know I'd end up on the other side of an all too familiar situation. Deep down I know how this ends.

It ends in broken, shattered pieces. 

It ends in irreversible damage and both of us possibly losing each other altogether. And I couldn't take knowing I destroyed not only you but also us. 

You mean too much to me to let this happen. I won't watch it go up in flames. 

I'm so sorry, but I promise you're better off without me.

For more from rc, visit her writer's page here.