Super excited to say that I’ve managed to realize I was settling by not settling. I was with my ex for almost 3 years and thought he was decent until we went on a break recently for multiple reasons. On this break I finally took someone up on their offer to take me out. We’ve been dating a month and he’s washed my car, cooked for me multiple times, built a book shelf, fixed my curtains, my closet, and a dent in my car. He ALWAYS opens every door for me, always takes out my trash AND my roommates because they never do, always pays ahead of time so I don’t even get a chance to offer, and always makes sure to walk me up the 3 flight of stairs to my apartment or to text when he knows I’m getting off work late. I never ask him to do anything he always offers or is already working on it before I can say anything. When I let my ex know that I wanted to take him seriously he got upset and started saying that he’s finally in a place where he can do all these things for me. 3 years too late and I thought it was going to hurt way more than it did but even if I don’t end up with this new guy I finally know that there’s no excuses for me to settle anymore because good men do exist.

Edit: I’m very aware it’s entirely too early to judge his true character and I appreciate the warnings. The point of the post was more so that there shouldn’t be any excuses for the way a guy treats you. Whether it’s been years or just a few days the way they treat you speaks volumes.