What I've Learned About Relationships

My laptop is broken so I'm writing this on my phone so excuse any typos or errors! Lol.  I was inspired to write this entry because I went out for brunch with a girlfriend today and she has been experiencing some relationship issues and wanted my advice about things. While I was giving her my advice I came to some realizations about what I've learned so far about relationships.  I'm in a healthy relationship right now, but I've also experienced my fair share of unhealthy relationships. The main thing that I've learned is that the person you are in a relationship with should enhance your life and not take away from it. Of course things aren't always amazing and easy, but the thing you must remember is that you work on things and communicate. Your other half should open your eyes to things that you are doing right and also things that you can improve on. You don't want to be in a relationship where the other person just tells you what you want to hear. I love to feel supported,  but I also want to be made aware of when I'm being irrational or wrong.
I've also learned that it really takes a lot of effort to make relationships work. It's tiring and exhausting at times. The healthiest relationships are the ones where both people are working towards the common goal of bettering each other and bettering the relationship.
Communication is key!!! I can't express how important HONEST communication is. You have to express your thoughts, feelings and fears. Things that you desire from your partner,  things that you wish they would do, things that you wish they would acknowledge,  things that you're happy with. All of that is important.  It's best to get things out in the open. It's not always going to be a good feeling and there are going to be things that you don't necessarily want to hear, but I promise you, it's going to help. You can't expect for your partner to read your mind and they can't expect you to read theirs. If you talk about things,  there will be less misunderstandings.
I'm still learning about what it takes to make a relationship successful and happy, and i want to continue to learn and grow. I'm always willing to give advice about what I've learned so far and from what my friends say...I do a pretty good job. Haha. We'll see how everything goes!