i have a friend who’s liked me and confessed. i know this is bad but i’m the type of person to want attention in that kind of way. i didn’t like him then but now i don’t know. i can’t tell if i just want him to like me again for attention or i actually like him or if it’s platonic love.

we had phases where we wouldn’t talk for months and in the most recent one i kept wishing we never stopped talking and that when i went out i would see him, or i would wish we were hanging out and even that we were doing couple things.

could anyone give me some advice on this? would really appreciate it

i’ve fallen in love this year. i’m a 25 year old woman, although i still feel like just a girl. i’ve been in a few relationships with men since i was a teenager. my most recent relationship being 6 years long. i thought i loved them all until i met him.

i’ve known him since high school, but we didn’t interact then. this will sound crazy but even then, when i didn’t even know him or talk to him, i still knew something was there. so when we finally did connect, it felt natural. it felt like what was supposed to happen. it took a few years to happen. i was in a relationship with someone else, he would check in every now and then to see if i was single but i never was. but for some reason i would still always keep him in the back of my head. when i finally left my relationship last year, he was a big part of that decision. i just felt something pulling me towards him.

and then i saw him for the first time since high school. it felt like i’d known him in every lifetime. i finally found him in the right one. now a year later, i am so in love with him. i’ve never pictured myself getting married or pictured my wedding like most girls do, but i picture my life with him. he makes me feel like that happy little girl inside. he makes me vulnerable, he makes me honest, he makes me brave, he makes me smile, he makes me laugh. oh does he make me laugh. he’s the funniest person in the world. he’s so kind, he’s so sweet. he calls me lovely, my favorite nickname. i’m blabbering, but i hope some can resonate with these words. i just needed to tell the world. it’s like suddenly everything is love. i love myself, i love him. i love the trees and the clouds and the wind and the rain. everything is love. it’s like every r&b song is suddenly about him. every romance book is about him. every poem. i write about him in my notes on my phone, and i wrote something a few months ago when we first started dating. i’m going to read it to him at our wedding. mark my words! i’ll try to remember to update when that happens.

but for everyone who may be wondering if he/she is the one: you’ll feel it. you’ll know. deep down, you’ll know even when you don’t. i struggle with anxiety so at first i didn’t know if i was overthinking if he was the one or not, but even then i never overthought if i loved him. i did, and i do, and i always will. that’s all that matters, because if you love them you need to tell them. if they don’t feel the same, then at least you were honest with yourself. that is all that matters.

I’ve been reflecting on the connection between self-love and loving others, especially in my relationship with my boyfriend, Abdelatif

When I think about why I love him, part of it is because he makes me feel valued, cherished, and happy. His presence in my life brings me comfort and a sense of belonging, which fulfills some of my emotional needs. Wanting him to be "mine" isn’t about possession but about how his love enhances my life and makes me feel good about myself

But isn’t that also a form of self-love? By loving him and wanting to keep him close, I’m nurturing the parts of me that crave connection, security, and happiness. In a way, loving him feels like loving the best version of myself,the one that feels safe and cared for

At the same time, I know it’s important to love him for who he is, not just for what he brings into my life. True love is about respecting the other person’s individuality and freedom, even as you share a connection

What do you think? Is all love ultimately rooted in self-love? How do we balance our desire for connection with respecting the freedom and individuality of those we love?

So, this happened a few days ago, and I(20m) can’t get it out of my mind.

It was around 4 PM, super cold outside, and I had just gotten on the bus to head home after college. It’s a long journey—around 3 hours. A few minutes after I got on, this girl boarded the bus. She was absolutely beautiful, with the sweetest voice. She asked if the seat next to me was free, and I said yes, so she sat down. She was also a college student.

After a little while, she asked if I had water she could drink. I handed her my bottle, and she thanked me with the warmest smile. Then, she spent some time on her phone before putting it away.

That’s when it happened. She started dozing off, and before I knew it, I felt something heavy on my shoulder. At first, I thought about waking her up, but when I glanced at her, she looked so peaceful. I figured she must’ve been tired from her day, so I let her rest. I even shifted slightly to make her more comfortable.

She slept like that for about 40 minutes, then woke up, checked the time, and... went right back to sleep on my shoulder again. I couldn’t help but smile—it felt like she trusted me in a way that made my heart ache in the best way possible.

This cycle repeated a couple more times: she’d wake up, check the time, and then lean back onto me to sleep. Every time, I felt this overwhelming need to look after her—like making sure her stuff was safe and bracing us during bumpy parts of the road so she wouldn’t get jostled.

Finally, after about 2 hours, her stop came up. I gently woke her up, and she smiled at me again before getting off the bus.

I don’t even know her name, but that small, unexpected moment of connection has stayed with me. It was such a simple thing, but it felt so pure and comforting.

Basically what the title says. I am not overly talented at art, so nothing too challenging, but I can do some simple sketches pretty well! I have a few quotes as well and I’m writing the whole thing with glitter gel pens! So yeah it’s being made on sketchbook paper and stapled together.

Here is some pages of the book so far for context!

https://imgur.com/a/odXEN2n

Yesterday I got to my bf’s apartment and he immediately asked for “tea” about a friend of mine and her dating situation

Whenever I meet with any of my friends he always asks for the tea lol, ever since I taught him the slang (Tea) it opened the flood gates

He also likes to watch dating shows with me and get so invested (it’s hilarious to me)

So yesterday, before I got to even say anything he told me-“You know I don’t actually care that much about the drama, I just like to hear you yapping”

And it’s such an odd but sweet compliment in my opinion, he’s actually the best listener ever.

I actually don’t talk that much with most people because I feel like they don’t care but he always asks me questions, listens to me, even ask follow up questions for things I don’t remember talking about.

I just feel so heard and seen by him. It’s the best.

We’re both 29, dating for 8 months and moving in together in a month!

Is it possible to do that? I’m not sure, but I’ll give it a go.

Love. As a verb. (The expression)

To love is to give of one’s self for someone else’s benefit without expectation or requirement of reciprocation. (Please note, reciprocation can be hoped for)

Love. As a noun. (The feeling)

When an experience that registers on an emotional level conveys to an individual that they are wanted, that they are good enough, or that they matter, then we feel loved. When an emotional experience tells us that we are not wanted, not good enough, or that we don’t matter, then we don’t feel loved. (Where this notion came from. https://a.co/d/c7aUY7I )

It is my opinion that the five love languages are better thought of as the five possible expressions of love. And that the love language one would apply to oneself is simply a reflection of what that individuals emotional center easily recognizes as themselves either being wanted, being good enough, or mattering.

Yes, these brushes are very broad because I believe that to get any more specific would be to tell another person HOW they should verbify or feel/experience love.

That is what I think love is on a fundamental level. Whether you agree or disagree, I’d love to know your thoughts. If you think I’ve missed something, please tell me.

I can’t edit the title. Plz ignore the fact it says sleepy and not sleep😭

TLDR: My husband is not only my best friend but my biggest supporter and in our 3 years together he has to yet to not make a dream come true for me, and continues to remind me that no dream I have is too big❤️

So, I am currently in a hotel room is Las Vegas, it’s 3am but I can’t sleep. So lemme brag to strangers about my husband.

I have owned horses since I was 2 years old, barrel raced from 13-20, and followed the NFR (National Finals Rodeo, for those who may not know/want to google. It’s 10 nights at the beginning of December every year where the top 15 earners in each rodeo event compete for the world title. Essentially the Super Bowl of rodeo) from 13 on. I am currently 23 years old. So I have waited quite literally a decade to be here. My husband and I have been together since shortly after I quit barrel racing (I stopped because my family moved, and just never started back up in the new state)

My husband grew up a city boy/party kid through and through until a few years before we met. He was still a city boy and even told me that when we’d first started talking, believe his exact word were “yo, you know I’m kinda a city boy right, I don’t like living out in the middle of nowhere” (fast forward two years we bought a home down a dirt road in the middle of the woods bc being with me includes two horses and I made that known very early on lol) So, firstly, our home is truly my dream home and don’t get me wrong, he does also love where we live and tbh, I don’t think he’d live in a city again now 😆

But to my main point, he’s known since the first time the NFR rolled around after we met, how badly I wanted to go. It wasn’t the tickets that I couldn’t afford it was the travel, hotel and rental car or ubering that put the trip out of my means. Well, my FIL is an airline pilot, so for my birthday my husband and his parents surprised me with two tickets, free flights and hotel and uber covered for the trip. My husband also was not financially in a place to pay for the trip for us yet, but obvi the only reason his parents went all out for it is how much he told them about me wanting to go. So I have given my husband credit to anyone we chatted with tonight for me finally being here. (But I have profusely thanked his parents since my bday in September and roughly 4 times a day since we got here)

Lastly, while the barrel racers were up, my husbands eyes lit up and he was going off in my ear about how he’s getting me 3 barrels when we get back home, and how he’s willing to haul me and my horse to shows, and be a rodeo husband so I can barrel race again. Which, the NFR was the second rodeo I’ve gotten him to attend so far (there aren’t a lot around us, not that he wouldn’t go) and so far each time we attend one (2/2 lol) he falls in love with the sport even more. I love watching him not just support me, but also genuinely falling in love with all of the things I do too. But I digress, the point of this part, he reminded me probably 6 times, that I have all of the love and support in the world to chase any dream I have. And tbh what he said that made me want to write all this out was essentially “I live to make your dreams come true, tell me what you want and I’ll do my damndest to make it happen.”

I have always wanted and prayed for the marriage I have. My husband and I are truly just best friends who want nothing more than to see each other conquer everything we’ve ever wanted. Oh, and we met playing online video games, prior to me moving to his state. The move just worked out to be an hour away from him, as I still lived at home and my dad got a job offer in his state. Just to really top this off 🙈

Is it less romantic if it’s typed versus handwritten?

I have bad handwriting and sometimes mess up when hand writing letters. And I don’t want to mess up a card if I only have one chance to write it right.

There is several fact proving that platonic love include more love than romantic love, listed (come from the source at the end)

Platonic love :

-caring a lot about this person's well-being.

-Sharing interests and activities

-would go out of your way to do something to take care of this person or make their day better.

-loving spending time with this person.

-feeling emotionally close to this person.

-being attracted to their personnality

-can open up to them and share your most intimate and innermost thoughts and feelings, and vice versa.

-You can be really silly or really serious with this person, and you value both parts of the relationship.

-feeling like you know them really well, beyond the surface level.

-accepting them fully, flaws and all.

-feeling warm and affectionate toward this person. -You tell this person you love them.

-Describing your feelings as anything other than love would feel like it's minimizing how much this person means to you.

-seeing this person as being a long-term part of your life.

• committing to working on and tending to your relationship with this

person.

romantic love:

-feeling passion

-feeling sexual attraction

-commitment.

Benefits of platonic love :

-Improving mental and physical health

-Feelings of connectedness and joy

-Emotional support and trust

-Life partnership

https://preview.redd.it/fb9qixil716e1.png?width=360&format=png&auto=webp&s=df45f2678824fa474a47121f52f0a4eda6e12a84

Hi, r/love! I wanted to share a design I recently created called "Love Bites". It’s a fun, vintage-inspired take on love—with a spooky twist! The design features Dracula leaning in for a “romantic” moment, with a distressed, retro vibe to add some nostalgia.

It’s available on unisex t-shirts, sweatshirts, and women’s crop sweatshirts, perfect for anyone who loves blending romance and humor with gothic horror. You can also find similar designs on my website: www.twistedthreadsapparel.com.

If this type of post isn’t a fit for this community, I completely understand—mods, feel free to take it down if needed! I just thought this would be a fun way to share a different perspective on love.

Would love to hear your thoughts—what’s your favorite playful or spooky take on love? 😊

I know this is stupid and I'm too young to classify myself as hopeless, but oh my God is it rough out here. I really thought I found someone this time, but it turns out she was using me to cheat emotionally on her current boyfriend. And the other girls don't even give me a chance. I've put myself out there, I've taken initiative and asked people out. I've worked on myself and my brand. But nothing works. It's just so strange. I don't know why but I just have this romantic passion inside of me, this desire to just tell someone how much I care about them. I'm cursed with being a writer who has noone to read to. It's actually gotten to the point where I've began to write scripts of love stories that'll I'll make videos out of (aprately my voice is nice to listen to-but who knows) Oh well, I'll figure something out, I always do. But thanks for listing to my rant, and have a good day!

So today I was talking with my girlfriend and we got to the part where I ask what would happen or what were our wishes if one day one of us we end up in a coma. For my part I said that I wanted her to disconnect me because I didn’t want her to suffer to have to see me like these all days. After I said that she cover her face I told her what happen and she didn’t said a word I said love take your hands out of your face she did and she was crying she had tears coming out her eyes. I said what happen and she looked at me and told me she couldn’t do it I said what she said that she couldn’t disconnect me I told her that I didn’t want her to see me like that and suffer and she said that it didn’t matter that she would be with me all days but that she just couldn’t imagine even the fact of seeing me in that way it just breaks her. She keep crying and I hug her really tight and I said that that wouldn’t happen. She keep crying until I make her laugh and we start talking about something else.

Late teens-early 20s, IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE IN LOVE!!!!!!!! I get to grow and change with my boyfriend. its so intimate and sooooo so refreshing. after my last relationship (that was incredibly abusive!!) i thought my teens were going to be completely wasted. i thought my life was gonna be hell forever. But i an SO GLAD still get to experience love like this!!! its so wonderful. My boyfriend gets to watch me get my licence, get my first car, be there for my 21st birthday. seriously!!! this is all i couldve ever wanted. I get to drive around and do fun things and be in love without the pressures of fully being an adult yet. and then i get to transition into full adulthood with him. i get to move in with him, find an apartment together, etc. I get to do all these fun things, and hard things that come with growing up and fully being an adult, with my biggest support by my side. um hello?!! i may be depressed- and that can cloud my vision, but tbh... my life is pretty fucking good rn.

This is how love was for me. This is how I’d describe love.

This is a text I sent to my gf just over a month ago.

“Whenever I see pictures or videos of couples and nice moments and everything like that, like someone saying something or doing something or a couple doing a thing together and looking so happy, I imagine it as us. I think of you every single time. It happens with love songs too. It makes me happy every time it happens. It’s part of how I know you’re my person and that’ll I’ll love you forever”

If I were to describe love, it would be that suddenly all the love songs become about them.

I 21f genuinely think I found the love of my life(my soulmate) if we’re putting labels on it, in my 21years of living I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way, it’s a feeling of love and peace. We’re both the same amount of weird in our own way and I couldn’t imagine my life without him honestly, it’s like my soul found it’s match and I’m not just saying that because I love him so much I’m saying that because even before we started dating I saw him and my heart literally skipped a beat and all I wanted to do was hold his hand and just be with him, I still till this day think it was meant to be

Before we met I was looking for a job so bad and my father brought me home a job application to a random place and I applied, that same year my bf 24M, he was 22 at the time had a drug test for a job opportunity at an internship and failed it even though he was clean for months so it pushed him back a year and they told him to come back after he finishes college and try again which kept him at that same place. And honestly I’m still in awe at the fact it was so perfectly set up and i believe it was meant to be, I got hired at that place and met him and if he didn’t fail the drug test he should’ve passed I wouldn’t never met him and not to mention my older sister and his older sister used to be friends and we even met when we where younger but didn’t know till after I met his family.

His dad once told me a story on when my boyfriend was having trouble getting a girlfriend or even having interest or matched with anyone and he told my boyfriend ( his son) to stop looking for the one and let the one find you and that’s exactly what happened he stopped looking and I found him, we found each other and till this day I can say I found the one I’m going to spend my life with.

The way she talks to me, the way she shows she cares. She helps me feel so safe and helps become so vulnerable. The way she reciprocates, the way she thinks in general. The way she tries her best and not for us, also for herself. I really feel like the luckiest person alive. And I'd do anything for her. There's not an ounce of blood nor nerve in my body that wouldn't. She's too sweet and good for this world. No amount of words can tell you how much I appreciate you and your essence in my life. I think of you so much. That it's too much but, in such a good way. I've never cried so hard before for anyone. You did that. You made it so easy. When it's hard for me to get that emotional to the point I shed so much tears. I've never felt so cared and loved for ever this way and therefore I want to show you the same. I'd be here for you always my heart and try to keep and help you stay happy. I'm sorry that we are so far apart. But I know that our love will always be right here...Thank you. I can't wait to see you, my eagle.

I remember the day I realized that love isn't about perfection. It was when my partner and I had our first big argument. We both had our flaws on full display, but instead of pulling apart, we chose to understand and support each other. That moment taught me that true love is about accepting each other's imperfections and growing together. Have you ever experienced a similar realization in your relationship?

Every relationship has its ups and downs, but it's those challenges that strengthen the bond. Embrace each moment and cherish the journey together.

What's one thing you’ve learned about love that changed your perspective? Share your stories in the comments!

I’m feeling really down in the dumps. My boyfriend holds the torch in our relationships, when it comes to bringing in a calm energy. I’m feeling so bad, so grateful, unworthy and overall stupid. He had to pick my car from somewhere by booking a cab to where it was parked, he didn’t even have a proper address to, connected my brother, drove it to my place, called me 12 times it to go unanswered. I sadly, had my phone on silent and was asleep. I had a tough week and hadn’t slept well since idk how long, dozed off in the middle of the day.

I don’t want to buy him a present or write a sweet note appreciating him and forget about it. I frankly think I need to straighten up my behaviour and become better.

Please guide me how? I was a soft spoken, chill for most cases kind of person early on in our six year relationship but then life happened. I have noticed how I’m not longer as loveable how I used to. I don’t know why he is so patient with me. I may have been not so kind with him in last few months. It’s coming all haunting back to me.

Please help!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share something that's been making me unbelievably happy lately. About two weeks ago, I started texting with this girl (21F) I've never met in person, but we have a mutual friend, follow each other for some time on social media and we work in the same field, so we kind of knew of each other but never really had a chance to meet, chat and talk before. From the very first conversation, we just clicked. Like, I've never experienced something like this before. Within a week, we've covered all the big topics such as life, money, work, kids, dreams, even our past relationships, worries and much more. We speak daily, we can spend hours and hours on a phone and we still have something to say. It's like we were able to skip all the small talk and get straight to the important stuff. For context, I've only had one long-term relationship before, and I've never really felt what people call "true love". She, on the other hand, has had three relationships where she was unfortunately treated terribly. Despite everything she's been through, she's such an incredible person and I can't wait to meet her finally in person. I know that it can be really different than over the phone and texts, but it's something I'm not really scared of to be honest. What blows my mind is how closely our values align, it's like we're on the same wavelength about everything that truly matters in life. I'm honestly just so grateful to have found her. She makes me smile every single day, and I haven't felt this good in a long, long time. It's crazy how quickly you can connect with someone foreign to you and in few days it feels like you known each other for the whole life. Even though we haven't met in person yet (work reasons), I already admire and adore her so much. After years of searching and wondering if I'd ever find someone like this, it feels like I finally have, given the fact that my and her values, experiences, living conditions and such are really different from others of our age category. I know it's early to judge and we still have so much to explore, but I couldn't keep this joy to myself, so just wanted to share a bit of a positivity, there is never enough of that. Just feeling incredibly thankful and hopeful for what's to come.

Even though he’s not gonna see this, I wanted to put it out there. I’ve been thinking about how amazing he is and how much effort he’s actually put in throughout the course of our relationship. It was rocky at the beginning, it took us a really long time and lots of disagreeing to get where we are now but we’ve learned to compromise.

One thing I absolutely hated was him playing video games when I was over. Especially because we were only seeing each other once a week for a while and that’s what he chose to do instead of spending time with me. And I’m talking 4+ hours of gaming while I was bored as heck. At the beginning of our relationship I would try to explain why this bothered me so much and it would not get through his stubborn little noggin. But lately I’ve noticed that he’ll play while I’m distracted with something — whether it be studying, cooking, talking with friends, spending time doing my own hobbies. And when it’s time for us to spend time together, he gets off the game, no questions asked. And sometimes even when I’m not busy, I really don’t mind just sitting beside him and asking him questions about his game or cheering him on. I’ve found myself saying, “no babe, keep playing, I really don’t mind” and actually meaning it. We’ve both learned a balance of doing things to keep the other person happy and the peace I feel along with this healthy form of compromising is so fulfilling.

Another thing I noticed is that once I raised concerns about pornography and viewing explicit content of other women on apps — it pretty much immediately stopped. As in, his X (Twitter) algorithm went from a decent amount of that type of content to virtually 0.

All of this to say, when I talk, he listens. And of course, when he talks, I listen. We’ve learned how to compromise and keep each other happy, and let me tell ya, it was a long journey to get here. But so worth it.

So, yeah, I absolutely adore my partner. These 2 years have been a rollercoaster but the love I feel for this man is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. He’s amazing, and best of all, he’s mine! :)

I am such a lucky girl! He spoils me SO MUCH I can’t even. He’s currently picking out things for me for Christmas and I’m GEEKING OUTT! Like I truly can’t believe this is even my real life rn 😭 I’m a sucker for gift giving/receiving it just makes me feel so good inside. Esp when the gifts are really sweet and personalized.

I ask to do silly things with me and he always agrees to! We’ve made matching bracelets together (his unfortunately broke at work though so we need to make more 😭) he’s got things to make soap together- he’s sang me songs too on his piano and guitar. He’s like an irl prince that snatched me up from my pretty terrible previous life.

He’s really into music so one day I picked up a guitar and learned a song for him in like a week. I wanted to surprise him and he really loved and appreciated it and it made me so happy!!

I also recently visited his house/hometown for thanksgiving for a week and it went SO GOOD!!! His mom is soo so nice and his whole family too. It was so great to meet everyone and I really felt like family. It feels so good to be able to be myself and be accepted.

He makes me feel sooo so much joy. I suffer with depressive episodes but whenever I spend time with him it’s easier to be happy and actually enjoy myself. He is sooo SO funny and he’s my BEST friend !! The bestest friend I’ve ever had in my life. We have so much fun together and laugh so hard together. We have so many inside jokes I may have to make a separate post about them lolll

Thnx for reading these little random blurby thoughts and things

So, last week I caught a cold, and thanks to my asthma, it’s been dragging on. The cold itself is mostly gone now, but getting rid of all the leftover crap is always a pain. I’ve been coughing a lot, and if I try to lie down to sleep, I end up triggering an asthma attack. So, my only option is to sleep sitting up.

Tonight, after we finished watching a movie and were getting ready for bed, I told my partner I’d be sleeping on the couch again. I told her she should go upstairs and sleep in our bed because I was pretty sure she didn’t want to deal with sleeping sitting up. She agreed that I was right.

We hugged for a while since we were both feeling a bit sad about not being able to sleep together that night. During the hug, I joked, “If you start crying, I’m going to laugh.” She looked at me with tears already on her face and said, “Too late.” We both ended up laughing at her crying.

It’s moments like this that remind me how nice it is to be loved so much.

I’ll go first, • I love cake buttttt icing on cake is a little too sweet for me most of the time lol. So my partner takes the icing off for me without me having to ask because he knows this lol 😂💕.

• Before I moved in I told him about when I was little how my grandma used to put the towel in the dryer for me, so it would be warm/hot when I get out the shower.. he now does it for me sometimes, just to do it because he loves me 💕.

He does so many more things but these are just 2 small (but huge to me) acts he does.

Tell me some things your partner does 🥹.

I don't even know how to start this because there are so many layers to this story, and honestly, it blows my mind. But I'll try to keep it simple.

I live in New York now, but recently, I had to return to my small hometown in Minnesota—something I swore I'd never do. Work was getting overwhelming, and my sister needed some help, so I packed my bags and made the trip, even though that place holds many difficult memories.

Within just two days of being back, everything changed. I reconnected with old friends, coworkers, and people who genuinely love and care about me. I got to hug my sister, take care of her, and be there in a way I hadn't been for a long time. It felt like I was healing in ways I didn't even realize I needed.

But the most unexpected part? I met up with my high school sweetheart. He's been my best friend for 18 years—we've always stayed in touch, no matter where life took us. When we saw each other, it was like no time had passed. His cousins are my best friends, too, and for the first time in forever, I felt at ease in this small town.

And then… I noticed it. That spark. The one I didn't think would ever be possible between us again. We're taking things slow, but it's clear that this guy—my high school sweetheart, my lifelong best friend—is the one for me.

For years, the timing could have been better. We were too young, or one of us was in a relationship, or one of us was moving away. But now? We're both single, healthy, and settled. Our families, who have always known each other, are thrilled. They say it's fate, but we call it divine intervention and true love.

It feels like the universe - God worked overtime to bring us back to this moment. And for the first time, I'm not just grateful—I'm absolutely and completely blessed.