Who Was It With? 

Matias

When Did You Realize It was Love? 

When I realized I was never over him

What Did It Feel Like? 

It...was strange. It was something I had never felt before. A tingling feeling inside, realization.

What Happened Next? 

It begins a few days before Thanksgiving break. We had one or two classes together, but we never spoke until then. When we got back from the break, we spoke even more. He would play around with me and I'd do the same. We went on two field trips together and during each one we became closer. One day in December, the 12 I think, was when I realized I had liked him.

Then, on the 16 of December, he told me he liked me, and I had returned these feelings. But I had a very bad feeling. I didn't listen, because I felt he was different. Boy, was I wrong. I would end up being the rebound from his last crush, which happened to be my best friend at the time. Heartbroken, I rejected him and we didn't speak again.

It took me just under a month to get over him, and four months to recover completely. I was happy, carefree. I felt that nothing could ever bring me down again. But I was wrong. He began playing around with me again, and I let him, only this time I put up barriers. One day, he kissed me in exchange for something of mine. That brought my whole world down. I felt alone, that no one could understand, and no one really could.

The time for recovery was much shorter, about two weeks, and again, I was happy and free. As usual, he returned. Not as rough, but we stayed friends. I was left still wanting him. During one of his text responses, I realized that I never was over him, and that I loved him. I never told him, and I feel it was for the best. I'm much happier now then I ever was.

Lessons Learned

• Always listen to your heart. I know that it's hard to listen, but it's usually right.
• Don't fall too fast. You have to really know someone before you fall, because you never know what they're like.