Maybe it was the princess stories we listened to as kids where the prince always enacted some grand gesture to save the princess from demise. Maybe it was those Nicholas Sparks movies that showed love on such a grand scale. Maybe it's because of social media and the over-the-top declares of affection people feel the need to post. Who knows.

Regardless, love isn't always like that, and that's okay.

Our interests and desires impact the way we seek out love. There's no doubt that all the rom-com movies and anniversary posts on Instagram make us see these depictions of romance and yearn for it. Deep down, every girl fantasizes about being swept off her feet and drowned in words of love and affirmation.

But it's time to quit being over-the-top with it. We have to stop thinking that every guy we date is going to be a crazy romantic who sends you an eight paragraph text for you to wake up to. Get rid of the expectations that your boyfriend is indebted to you, someone who, even if they don't have the financial means, is expected to spoil you or even always pay for dinner.

It's unfair to hold men to this romance standard that doesn't always suit their personality. It's time that we learn how they love, and appreciate it that way. There are millions of ways to demonstrate and express love, and it's the little ways that mean the most. Learn each other's love languages and appreciate every ounce that they put forth, just as they should for you.

I'm sorry to every former boyfriend who I've held to those weird pop culture standards of love.

Everyone deserves someone who understands how they love, no matter what way they express it best. Love isn't always a grand gesture or fountain of verbal display. Love is a connection. It deserves to be appreciated in any and every way that it comes. Take note.