Because I’m a young single twenty-something, people often offer me advice about relationships.

They tell me to make sure I’m not being taken for granted.

To make sure I’m getting something back in return.

To make sure the relationships I enter into are two-way streets.

To make sure that I’m appreciated. That my gestures are reciprocated.

I brought you a cupcake at work. Now it’s your turn to bring me one.

And I appreciate all of you people giving me this advice. I know it comes from love. It comes from wanting to see the person you care for valued in her relationships. It comes from being protective. But I have news for you:

I don’t want that 50/50 relationship you’re talking about…