Defrost Your Frozen Heart: Why You Shouldn't Let One Guy Ruin It For All The Rest

I know you.

You used to be the little girl who believed in "Disney princess love."

You're the dreamer who sat in front of the mirror with firetruck-red lipstick on and dreamt of Prince Charming showing up at your door with a bouquet of roses. You used to crave romance and you thrived on the notion that love could be real.

Flash forward 10 or 15 years later, and you're the girl who rolls her eyes at the sight of a couple holding hands and has more date nights with Netflix and a bottle of merlot than you ever thought humanly possible.

Love? What's that? Why even bother? The last time you felt this "love" thing, you had the rug ripped out from under you and swore to yourself that you would never allow that pain to find you ever again. You were underestimated and belittled.

You probably weren't yet aware of your self worth, and you convinced yourself that the way you were being treated was okay.

Sure, you spent a lot of nights (okay, most of your nights) watching his favorite shows and listening to his favorite music, and were so naïve to the point that having your own interests thrown out the window was acceptable, but... you loved him, right?

Yes, you did. As much as you want to deny it, you were downright head-over-heels for him, and that's totally okay. He may have been your first love, or second, or third, but regardless, you would do almost anything for him, and you hoped he would do almost anything for you.

Well, you may have been wrong about a few of your "Prince Charming" assumptions. A heartbreak took place, I'm sure, and it probably threw you for a loop and made you question humanity a little bit.

Now, to make a long story short, you're jaded. You are jaded in the worst way, my friend.

You simply don't believe in love anymore. You've been there, it hasn't worked out and now you're done trying. Now you have a hard time believing a man when he tells you that you're beautiful; you always think there's a catch.

You're never confident when someone asks you on a date, because in the back of your mind, there is always a little voice warning you that it might not work out.

You're a total pessimist in the field of romance, and I'm here to tell you that living a life full of resentment toward love will never get you anywhere.

Believe me; I've been there. Actually, I'm kind of still there, and I'm slowly beginning to realize that being jaded over a failed past relationship or two is no way to categorize future ones.

People make mistakes; they grow, and they either learn from the way that they have treated others in the past and begin to better themselves, or they remain alone in their world of "me, me, me."

If the latter is the case, you dodged a bullet, because who wants to spend the rest of their lives with someone who treats their significant other like an insignificant doormat? Certainly not you, I hope.

Let's face it: We all run into jerks and people who are not going to treat us the way we should be treated. At least now, I hope you know that you should take failed love as fuel and walk away from anyone who begins to treat you poorly.

Love exists; it's all around. Don't let someone from your past dull your future flames.

Take the past for what it is: the past. Sure, your heart may still be a little bruised up and you might not have full trust in every guy who asks for your number, but just realize one thing: Love is beautiful.

Don't let one or two guys ruin your idea of romance for the rest of your life.