Category Archives for "Relationships"

0 What to do when best friends are jealous of each other’s crushes

Tayo asks: I have a guy that likes me, and I like him too. But he doesn’t want to date me (and I feel the same way). But anytime I’m with a guy or he’s with a girl, we get jealous. He said he is tired of girls’ issues. (I have a long time crush. That’s why I can’t date him.) What can we do about it?

Hi Tayo –

So it sounds to me like you’re best friends, one of those pairs of best friends that’s almost like a married couple, but without the romantic/dating part.  So even though you want a romance (with the person you have the crush on) and he says he’s tired of girl issues, you still feel he’s yours, and he feels you’re his, so you get jealous of others when they step into your beautiful “marriage.”

I’m afraid there’s no perfect answer to this one, and the truth is that the only thing that will fix it is when one of you does truly get involved with someone.  But when that happens, that will change your relationship.  Which will be a little bit sad, while of course it’ll lead to all sorts of good stuff too.

But in the meantime, you guys are going to be like me around Handsome.  I feel a bit shut out when he has girlfriends over, even if they like me, and I get VERY jealous when he pets other dogs.  But in the end, he and I are always a team.  And if he does end up marrying one of these women, I know the three of us will become a team (and will still be when a fourth or fifth comes along!).

So my best advice is to Continue reading

0 What to do when you love someone who doesn’t want a relationship

Danish asks: I love a girl, and she is my best friend. 9 months ago I said I like her but she told me we will meet later or I will think later. But when I deeply told her my feeling she got scared and told me that she doesn’t like me. Then everything get normal and we talked normally like before. But 8 days ago she told one of our best friends that she will never accept my proposal in future, that she only wants to be besties with me. She told one of our friends that she never wants to marry.So what should I do?

Hi Danish –

As I started to read your letter, I got a bad feeling in my stomach, that your “bestie” is rejecting you because she’s not attracted, and I know that hurts a lot.

But then I got to the end, and felt a lot better. My friend, your bestie is afraid of getting married! That’s it! It’s not about you, it’s about this issue.

So I have one major suggestion for you – get her talking about it! Find out what her reasons are for not wanting to get married. Has she seen bad stuff in her parents’ relationship? Does she love her freedom and fear someone tying her down? Perhaps she feels, as a woman Handsome dated a few years back said, that if she married she’d lose her own identity.

Now I don’t know what he answer will be, and I’m not saying she’s wrong to feel the way she does. But until you know that answer, you and I won’t be able to figure out what’s best for you to do.

So whether you’re bluntly open, “Hey you told my friend you don’t want to get married! What’s up with that?!” or sly and strategic, “So I hear a growing number of girls today don’t want to get married. Why do you think that is?”

When you find this out, THEN we can talk about what’s best to do. But not till then.

Good Luck and Let Me Know!

Shirelle

0 How to tell someone you like them when they think you don’t

msourav229 asks: I like a girl. I have not told her yet. One day my friend told her that I have something to tell her. She was very curious to know what. In the meantime one of my other friends told her that he thinks I don’t have any interest in her. Usually she joined us to hang out but today she left. Now what should I do now? Did my friend’s words turn her off. How can I express myself to her?

Hi msourav229 –

Sometimes I get very complex questions.  This isn’t one of them.

We know two things:

• She was curious about what your friend said you wanted to tell her.
• She didn’t hang out with your group after your other friend said you weren’t interested in her.

So what don’t we know?

• What that curiosity meant – is she just a naturally curious person, or was she particularly interested in what you might say?
• Why she left the group.
• And of course, how she feels about you.

There’s only one answer to “how can I express myself to her,” and there’s a clear way to do it!

The way is to Continue reading

0 What to do if someone acts like you don’t matter

Deepunikki asks: My partner and I are always having fights because he isn’t giving much importance to me. I’m so worried about it. Even if I tell him, he isn’t understanding. How can I find a solution for this?

Hi Deepunikki –

I have two answers for you, because I don’t know you or your partner.  Either might be right, or even both possibly.

My first is based on you being completely accurate in how you see the situation.  You’ve been trying to express your feelings, and your partner just doesn’t get it.  They don’t treat you as though you’re even relevant.  They don’t call when they say they will, or even text, they ignore you when they’re with you, they never take you into consideration when they make decisions… is this sounding kind of right?

My second is based on lots of misinterpretation.  Your partner actually does take you into consideration, but not in ways that make you feel cared for.  They show affection in ways that don’t mean much to you, but pay too much attention to their friends, their family, their work, for you to feel cared for.  And when you talk to them about feeling ignored, they ignore that – either literally not noticing what you’re saying or treating it as you being over-dramatic.

Could that be the case?

Well, I guess I’m changing my mind.  Both of these scenarios lead me to the same answer, which is that your relationship isn’t working right now.  And you need to Continue reading

0 How to get someone you like to want to keep talking with you

thelittleangel asks: A guy I like goes to a different school. I started talking to him today over text (since it’s summer) and I had an amazing conversation with him and I think he’s finally interested in talking to me since he would reply fast and ask questions of his own. How can I get him to keep wanting to talk to me? And maybe even text me first?

Hi thelittleangel –

Well, my easy first answer is “Keep doing what you’re doing because you’re doing great!”

But I do have one other thought. Have you ever heard of Scheherazade? I don’t know whether she was an actual person or not, but legend has it that she was to spend a night with a king, who was known for having a woman a night, then killing her, then having another the next night. When it was her night, though, she came up with the great idea of telling him a story, but cutting it off right at the most exciting part. This way, he needed to keep her alive so he could hear the rest of it the next night. She kept doing this for 1001 nights. At this point, he was so in love with her, he made her his queen. Her stories are now referred to as The Arabian Nights or The Thousand and One Nights, and include many the whole world loves, like Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Now I certainly hope this guy you like isn’t quite as bloodthirsty as that king! But just like Scheherazade, you have a strong interest in keeping him interested. So maybe you can take a hint from her, and have delightful conversations with this boy, but always leave him curious, wanting more. The occasional “Oh I have to go, my friend just wrote me with an emergency. Can we talk tomorrow?” will almost guarantee that he’ll write. Or you’re telling him about the funniest thing that happened today, but just before you get to it, “Whoops, sorry, gotta go! Later!”

Now if you do this too much, he’s certain to catch on, so I wouldn’t say to do it every day. But a bit of this is great.

And of course, I’m guessing you’d also like to have contact with this guy beyond texting. So how do you get that? Well, hint-dropping never hurt. “I sooooooo wanna see Incredibles 2, the first was like my favorite movie as a kid!” just might encourage him to ask you out to it. Or “There’s nothing I love more than pizza!” (Though I tell Handsome that on a daily basis and he almost never takes me out for it!)

It really comes down to two tricks, thelittleangel. First, put some effort into keeping him interested and curious, like Scheherazade. But secondly, trust that you’re already interesting. He’s shown he thinks you are! Be confident, and make him come to you just a bit, while letting him know you’re friendly.

Oh and if you have a dog, you could always tell him how wonderful that pooch is. Then he’ll just have to find a way to meet your four-legged delight!

Good Luck and HAVE FUN!

Shirelle

0 How to live up to a crush you see as perfect

PERFECTION asks: I kinda have a crush on my friend. She’s actually the kind of girl that’s very responsible, intelligent, good, and I could even say she’s PERFECT and I was thinking, If I’m going to pursue her, shouldn’t I be just like her?

Hi PERFECTION –

You know, PERFECTION, perfection is an interesting thing. There is such a thing as perfection in mathematics, in physics, even in chemistry. But I think it ends there.

After that, what we call “perfection” is actually subjective. Some people say they hear perfection in the cleanliness of a Mozart sonata; others might hear it in the messiness of a jazz improve or a hard rock jam. Some see perfection in a simple elegant church tower, others in that wild Frank Gehry museum in Bilbao.

And when it comes to other living beings, it’s completely subjective. The woman you call perfect will be, to another person’s eyes, uptight and boring. And the person they call perfect might be, to your eyes, troublesome and irritating. People often say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well I promise you, perfection is too.

And in the easiest example I can give, my human Handsome is very open about it: he thinks little children are perfect, he thinks animals are perfect, but he thinks the greatest example he’s ever seen of what he calls “Superhuman Perfection” is… me.

Now no one knows my flaws better than he does. He cleans up my shedding hairs, he has scars from my biting him and tripping him as a puppy, he has weakened hearing from my barking in his ears, and he’s the one who cleans my poop up in the yard.

And yet, still, he says I’m perfect.

Meanwhile, I know his flaws. I’ve seen him make horrible mistakes in his life, I’ve been in the car when he lost control and crashed it, and I can’t tell you how many times he’s accidentally stepped on my tail. But still, I see him as perfect too.

You see, when we really love something or someone, it’s perfect. Because you’re seeing past any imperfections and appreciating what is. Do you know what “continuity errors” are in movies? Where there’s a mistake that means one shot doesn’t fit with another? (Like let’s say someone’s in the same scene but wearing a different shirt in different shots – though it’s usually a lot subtler than that). Handsome will gladly point out those errors in his favorite movies. But then he’ll tell you he wouldn’t change a thing – they’re just part of the perfection.

What’s imperfect about a flower? A mouse? A cloud? It can’t be imperfect, it just is itself.

So this girl – you say she’s intelligent, responsible, and good. And you’re thinking you want to be just like her? Well, I’d say that what you really are experiencing is Continue reading

0 How to help teens whose parent won’t let them date

ChilliPepper asks: My son (17) has fallen in love with a beautiful young lady (also 17). She seems to be going through depression because of circumstances at home. Now her mom has forbidden her from seeing my son. This is breaking her heart as well as my son’s heart. My son is the only reliable solid in her life at the moment. She wants to run away from home and has even considered suicide. I don’t know what to say to my son to comfort him or what to do to help her.

Hi ChilliPepper –

What a terrifying situation! For all of you!

I’ll be honest with you – I don’t think there’s a perfect answer to this. I imagine you and your son would get into trouble for helping her run away, and her suicidal feelings make it dangerous for her to stay home.

But I do know what I can recommend. And I’ll warn you, it’s very very hard.

I’d suggest you Continue reading

0 What to do when you realize your relationship is over

Deadpool asks: I was in a kind of relationship with this girl, though we never labelled it. We both said we love each other, the first 2-3 months gave me the best feeling in the world; however after that it has not been good. When you are into a person so much you might not realize small changes in them, but I surely know things are not the same. We text each other just as a formality now; tired of all this I left the particular social media on which we were talking without telling her, and she didn’t even call or text me to know why. I don’t know why there are these changes when nothing bad happened between us. I always try to make her happy. I don’t know what to do.

Hi Deadpool –

I have some very sad news for you.

Do you ever watch those medical TV shows, where a surgeon is trying desperately to save someone’s life, and their heart has stopped but the surgeon keeps madly pressing on it over and over, screaming to the other doctors that there’s still a chance, but that computer behind them shows that there’s no heartbeat, that the pulse is just a flat line going across, emitting a cruel steady beep?

It sounds to me like this relationship of yours has flatlined.

That doesn’t mean it was bad or wrong, or that there’s anything wrong with you or your girlfriend.  It just means it’s Continue reading

0 What to do when a relationship just isn’t working

Black coco asks: I have been in a relationship for 6 months and more. My BF and I are quiet people, but we have our fun and actually make a great team. We usually fight and argue just like any other couple (never gets physical), sometimes we don’t speak and just ignore each other, and I guess we are both too proud to admit either is wrong. I feel so lonely sometimes and it consumes me psychologically. I love him but I think I need to take a break. During this non-talking period I sat down and thought about so many things and I feel like I am tired. It’s not good to compare, but my ex made me feel wanted and never let me get this lonely. I don’t want to waste my boyfriend’s time and neither do I want to waste mine. We are in the same class doing law and he is a good time, but we often have these moments and they are becoming monotonous. I don’t have so much attachment to people so I can’t really find someone to tell. I thought about calling my ex and talking as friends, but his phone is off. Please help me – what should I do?

Hi Black coco –

As I love to point out, you humans have the most complex relationships!  We dogs just love or dislike or fear (and hardly ever dislike).  And if I like someone and they like me back, we’re good.  End of story.

That’s not you guys!

One thing about this website, unless the writer tells me specifically, I never know the ages of the people that write in.  And if you were twelve or so, I might think that this is a great opportunity to learn more about yourselves by talking things out and seeing where it all goes.

But you’re studying law, so I’m going to assume you’re in your twenties or so.  In other words, you’re fairly grown-up.  And so you probably have at least some sense of what life you want for your future.  Marriage?  Kids?  Freedom from both?

And my answer to what you should do is all based on that.  If you Continue reading

0 How to handle parents unable to accept romance between races AND What to do when someone treats you differently after drinking

Marina asks: I am going through something. It’s so stupid but I don’t know what to do. For about a year me and this guy had something going on. We never made a move because he is black and I’m white and my parents would freak out. We kind of moved on and he has a girlfriend now. We still talk a lot, because we just have this connection. Always making awkward eye contact. Two weeks ago we were both drunk and we kissed. I realized I didn’t care what my parents thought and that I wanted to be with him. Long story short, he said we could be together but just keep it quiet until he sorts things out with his girl. Last night I drunk dialed him and asked him like what now? Like it’s been two weeks? He just said “we can talk tomorrow”. But I haven’t heard a word. I feel hurt and yeah I don’t know what to do?

Hi Marina –

Well there are two stories here, two very different stories!

The first one, about you and a man of a different race getting attracted to each other, but holding off because of your families, is of course as old as storytelling.  Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner… these stories of love beyond boundaries will live as long as people insist on believing in their differences.  (For what it’s worth, I don’t know my parents, but I am a mutt, so I certainly have nothing against interracial romance!)

In this day, parents getting upset about racial differences feels a bit silly.  Handsome loves to tell about a cousin of his in Kansas, as pink-white and Germanic-looking as any woman has ever been, who had a child with a man of full-African background.  Her grandmother was very upset, fearing that no one would accept the child socially.  But all this was happening during an election in which the child of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Africa was being elected as the President of their country!!!  (Needless to say, that little girl has grown up just fine, and even been a magazine cover-model!)

So if things were to work out between you and this guy, my advice would be to treat your parents with loving patience, but slowly pull them into the 21st Century, and accept that these differences just don’t meant what they once did.

But then there’s the second story:  What the Heck!  I hate to say it, but it sounds like this guy’s one of those humans who’s a different person when he’s drinking.  There’s a great old movie called City Lights about a poor tramp who befriends a millionaire with a drinking problem; whenever the millionaire is drunk, he sees the tramp as his best friend and welcomes him into his home, but once he’s sober, he forgets he knows him and kicks him to the street – and this repeats over and over.

Now I might be wrong; maybe there’s something else happening with this guy.  But if I’m right, and anything does move forward with you two, I have some very strong advice: either get him to stop drinking, or never again believe what he says when he’s intoxicated.  Some people are extra-friendly when they’ve had a few; some people are mean; this fellow sounds like he’s not dangerous, but just untrustworthy.

Or to put it a different way, we all know it’s bad to let your friends drive a car when they’ve been drinking, right?  Well, let’s say this guy shouldn’t drive a relationship in that condition either!

I’d love to hear where this goes.  But for now, my only advice is to sit back and see what happens.  You’ve done everything right so far.  It’s now all up to him.

Thanks again!

Shirelle