Unrequited Love

 Dear Reader,

The majority of us have been in love with someone who can't reciprocate. Well dear reader, this writer has been in such a situation sadly, and some of the time the other person doesn't know the feelings exist. This writer was once in love with a friend. I was so blindly in love with the other party, but I was so good at hiding it. Long story short, I decided I had to move on because nothing was going to come to fruition, and also I couldn't be friends with him anymore, so I ended our friendship and cried myself to sleep. Months later, I saw him, and I felt nothing and got the chance to actually tell him I was in love with him the whole time.

For those who haven't yet caught on to what unrequited love is, here is a proper definition: It is a one-sided emotional investment, romantically, of course, often characterized by longing, hope, and frustration. It can feel like you are the only person going through it, but on the contrary, it is a universal thing and can be seen in various art forms across different cultures and literature. Personally, I have a love and hate relationship with unrequited love, mostly hate. I feel like we have grown up in environments that make all these seem right, especially for girls. Think of stories like The Great Gatsby or songs like Someone Like You by Adele or every rom-com that ever existed of the girl being so in love with some boy who is way out of her league.

Unrequited love has significant emotional and psychological effects. Sadness and loneliness, frustration, jealousy, low self-esteem, obsession or rumination, depression, or even anxiety.

Coping with it is not easy; my advice is to stay away from it, but also, on the other end, we cannot really control who we fall for sometimes. So if you find yourself in that situation, here is advice:

1. Acceptance: acknowledge your feelings, do not suppress them.

2. Focus on self-worth: realize that love is not about being good enough but a mutual connection.

3. Redirect your energy: find hobbies and channel your emotions into those or personal goals.

To close off, I tend to look for the positives in everything, so in my experience with unrequited love, I grew emotional resilience, self-reflection, understanding boundaries, and generally personal growth. I hope if you are dealing with this epidemic, you will come out of it how I did, with self-worth and acceptance and, most importantly, above all the nastiness of unrequited love.