(not) Waiting for my prince to come

This weekend, I went to Creighton's production of Into the Woods, which I surprisingly have never heard of before this year. I really enjoyed it, mainly because Tim was absolutely hilarious in it - he was Cinderella's prince, and bahahahaha...I was laughing so loud at him (and the cow, Milky White). Besides the hilarity, though, I liked the show because it made me realize something.

I don't want a Prince Charming.


I'm not saying that I don't want a man in my life.Y'all know me, and you know that's not true. But Tim had a line in the second act..."I was raised to be charming, not sincere." Then later, Cinderella had a line that was something to the effect of "his house was a nightmare and yours is a dream, but I want something in-between."

It was those two lines that really made me think. I don't want someone who's perfect. I want someone whose imperfections I can see, someone who doesn't hide them from me. Then I can be more comfortable in sharing my own. I want someone real, because that's the only way I would be able to find something real. Because in all actuality, isn't it the imperfections that make relationships beautiful? Without them, things would be boring, bland, and simple.

Easy doesn't mean right. Usually, easy actually means wrong - it's too easy to do what you want when what you need is really difficult. But we have to push through the difficult times, the imperfect times, to really appreciate the beauty in our lives. Without those hard times, how would we know who's really there for us? How would we know who really loves us for the people we are, rather than the people they think we are/want us to be?

I don't know who he is, I don't know where he is. But I know he's out there, my un-Prince Charming. He'll love me not because I'm perfect, but because my imperfections are parts of me. We'll grow together, accomplish things, love each other like no one ever loved us before.

Until then, I have friends who love me for exactly who I am. How do I know? I know because they stick with me through hard times. No, they do more than that. They carry me through hard times, push me to be me and no one else. They don't falter in times when I feel like I don't deserve them, they celebrate with me when I find things to love about myself. They demand that I tell them five things I love about myself, they supply endless hugs, they wake me up with texts. They tell me secrets, they tell me to "find perfection in the imperfections." So this one goes out to Scott, Eric, Bill, Steph, Patrick, Katie, Shannon, Katherine, Elane, Franky and others.

Also: I felt pretty last night. I was stressing about things to wear, right down to the jewelry, but I found an outfit that was just right. I didn't try too hard with my makeup and hair, and I felt pretty. No one had to tell me for me to feel it, which I think was the best part.