It’s a scary world that we live in, for many reasons. One of the things that frightens me the most, however, is the fact that we live in an age where people selfishly lead others on.

Unrequited love stories have become a trend in our age group and they need to be brought to an end.

If someone is there for you and wants to give you a piece of their heart, don’t let them do it unless you are fully willing to give it right back to them.

Too often I am seeing friends chase after who they claim to be an amazing person who has led them so far as to have them fully believing that they want the same things, only to crush their heart at the end...with and without reason given.

All too often people are getting hurt for allowing themselves to trust somebody and we as a species need to reform how we handle our relationships.

We should be able to trust each other and those we get to know. Circumstances like these cause trust issues and pain.

I unfortunately have been a victim of this.

Things started out amazing. He was a “great guy” and we became instant friends, believing that we had so much in common. It wasn’t long before we both discussed our feelings for each other and began going out.

He lived a substantial distance away, so I knew things wouldn’t be easy.

Things were great through our first two dates. We had fun, laughed a lot, and even developed our own inside jokes.

But then things started to crumple. I wanted to make things official and he wasn’t feeling it. Our conversations dwindled and he sometimes went days without talking to me. I was clouded by what I thought we could be and remained hopeful.

Two more dates pass and I thought everything was fine until about a week after my birthday when he more or less came clean. He never wanted to move forward from where we were, he wasn’t even interested in me and there was another girl the whole time.

The worst part: He didn’t tell me directly. I heard him say it on a video game livestream that he didn’t realize I was watching

I vowed from that moment forward that I wasn’t making myself available to him and that I would wait it out to see if he texts me first.

Three days later, I couldn’t take it anymore. I messaged him and asked him if we could talk, explained to him that I was disappointed, and went on my way. I didn’t bother to unfriend him on Facebook, delete his number or anything. After all, in his mind, we were never anything, so why would it matter?

It hurt, for like a second. I realized then that love isn’t something to force on other people. If they want it, they’ll take it and run with it from the start. If not, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise if you’re not careful.

Learn from my mistakes. Don’t give someone too much of your heart until they actually prove their worth it. Don’t let yourself be the only one who makes an effort for anything in a relationship, it’s not worth your time, aggravation, tears or loss of sleep.

If someone wants to act temporary, let them be temporary.