My “Perfect Guy” List (When I Was 14!)

Are you with the kind of person you always thought you would end up with? Or has the rose-tinted picture of your future Mr. Perfect-For-Me changed throughout the years?

The other day, I found an old diary I kept when I was 14. Most of it was of course cringe-worthy—lots of teenage angst and whining and plenty about my crush(es) and how we were obviously meant to be, if only I could muster up the courage to talk to them or even talk somewhere in their general vicinity.

But the most fascinating page in the whole diary? A list of 21 qualities my “perfect guy” would possess. I wanted to simultaneously hug and high-five my 14-year-old self as I read through each quality—I remember how much time I spent crafting the list, and how seriously I took it.

Cringe along with me…and please share your perfect guy (or girl) list, past or present, in the comments. Do your current wants match up with what you wanted when you were 14? 24? 34?

Here it is, exactly as it appeared in my diary:

Diana’s Perfect Guy

1. likes to cuddle

2. is relaxed

3. gets “it”

4. understands that when I say I don’t want to talk, he needs to pry

5. is completely in love with me

6. scratches my back

7. likes reminding me with small cute things that he likes me

8. is willing to be totally open

9. communicates

10. kisses me in the rain

11. is a little tough

12. can hold a conversation

13. will write me love letters

14. will be there for me

15. will be a friend

16. will care because he does, not because he has to

17. dances

18. thinks I’m the most beautiful woman he’s ever known

19. cares about me on a deep level

20. is really funny

21. is not completely mentally f***ed up [Not sure where this one came from. I think I was having a dark teenage moment.]

Save for “kisses me in the rain,” an arbitrary desire that I choose to blame on romantic comedies, many of these are still on my “perfect guy” list—and lucky me, my boyfriend happens to possess the most important ones. Whether that means that I was a particularly wise 14-year-old or that I just haven’t matured much since my early teen years…well, that’s still up for debate.