Any love worth having takes time and commitment. When you meet someone that you make an instant connection with, confidence goes out the door and in floods a lifetime full of insecurities, judgments, and doubts. What is my next move? Did he/she really just say what I think he/she said? Wait, did that really happen?

If you are like me and shy on the inside, you aren’t the type to unravel all your life’s mysteries on the first date. You are secretive and coy, hardly the type to reveal your timeline of half-baked romances and torn hearts haphazardly pieced back together by tape. The walls you’ve put up over the years stand only contest to the Great Wall. It takes time to trust someone. You have the highest opinion of yourself and swear that no other can compare. But make no mistake, you are not one bit egotistical or conceited. Jaded and skeptical, maybe, but not narcissistic. So you never say too much about yourself or too little, which gives others the impression that you are a tease (which I personally think is bullshit.) In other words, it takes a hell of long time to get to know you.

And for many people, they just don’t have that time to spare. It is too hard and not worth the investment. In the end, it is they who missed out on the opportunity to meet someone amazing like you. But I believe it is important to keep in mind that not now doesn’t necessarily mean not ever. Timing is everything. If they truly were “the one”, somehow, someway, they will come back into your life. Granted, most often very inconveniently, but I wouldn’t immediately dismiss this second chance. And no, one cannot simply pick up where they left off. You can try if you want to but it’s not going to be the same. But if it is worth it, if you are willing to put up with the work, then by all means have at it. Do it when you are ready.

It is easy to question one’s thoughts. It is far more difficult to question one’s feelings. Doubt in your own feelings will translate into everything you do. If you feel something for someone, have conviction. Don’t do a shoddy job of expressing it. All you are wasting is time, which for me at least, means the world. Games are for kids. How old are you now?