When I started dating I had this kind of Romeo and Juliet, fateful romantic idea about love which was almost that you were a victim and there was a lot of pain involved and that was how it should be. Shakespeare said the course of true love never did run smooth, and I had this sense that it had to be painful. It was such a revelation to realize that it shouldn’t be that way and that you get to choose who you love and who you decide to give your heart to. It sounds like a cliché but I also learned that you’re not going to fall for the right person until you really love yourself and feel good about how you are.