Some people just don't know when they have crossed the line, or that there is even a line at all. I've had many guys harass me for my attention when it wasn't wanted. I don't think they knew they were being totally creepy, but I'm hoping these examples really help those questioning their actions.
If you think the girl is not interested, please walk away.
I can tell you from experience that persistence is not key in this situation.
The question comes though, where is the line? In a movie setting, characters with creepy motives and actions are romanticized all the time. The newest popular Netflix series "You" portrays just this scenario, to the extreme. Joe falls in love with a stranger and is willing to do anything for her. ANYTHING.
Many love stories and movies start out with very sketchy relationships that are way overlooked. Enough about fictional stories though, it's the real ones that truly fill me with disgust.
So just in time for Valentine's Day, I asked if anyone was willing to share their stories of secret, and not-so-secret, admirers and their creepy (NOT CUTE) actions. The results...the disgust is real.
 Female, 20
"He is twice my age and owns a place that I frequent very often with my family. He blatantly hit on me in front of my parents. Very, very out of line. He's much closer to the age of my parents than he is to me, and he went out of his way to be in my way."
Female, 19
"My not-so-secret admirer was unfortunately my boss. He was the writer of our dinner theatre show, and he came to tech week. He kissed my face, would bring me in for a hug by pulling me in by the waist, told me he'd take me back to Toronto with him... He is around 55-60 years old. Needless to say, he is never writing for that company again."
Female, 33
"I was 15, working at the mall in a small shop. For several weeks, an older man would show up and stand 40-50 feet from my store, watching me work. Sometimes when I went on break, he would follow me around the mall, always at a distance. One day when I went to use the bathroom, he followed me and started asking about how old I was. When I got back to the shop, I called security and thankfully he didn't lurk outside my store after that. Not that I saw, anyway."
Female, 19
"I once had a guy text me about 60 times a day during freshman year. This went on for about a week. It got to the point that I would leave my phone in the corner of my room and wouldn't use it for days. I'd try to avoid him at school because he clearly wasn't getting the message that I didn't want to talk to him."
Female, 20
"Bought me jewelry from a foreign country when we had never spoken to each other, then sent me a DM and demanded my address so he could send it to me."
Female, 22
"Wrote a song on SoundCloud where the only lyrics were my name."
Female, 19
"Blocked and unblocked me on IG and followed me several times in a cycle. Views my IG stories when we don't follow each other, hence they would have to search my name to view my stories. Weird, because this person is in a relationship."
Female, 19
"Kept asking me out, knowing I have a boyfriend."
Female, 19
"I work in the food industry, so I see creepy people all the time, but this one man was way out of line. I'd say he was probably in his late 30s, early 40s, with a daughter. Literally old enough to be my father. He would come in and be flirty with me, sticking his tongue out, laughing, etc. As I was making his food once, he was watching me. He asked 'Wanna put your number on that bag?' I said no and laughed it off. When I went to hand it to him, he decided to get uncomfortably close to me, bite his lip and say 'I'll just give you mine instead then.' "
Now I want to be clear and state that I know it isn't only women who experience this, but they are definitely the majority. Sometimes hearing about these occurrences frightens me of the people in this world, but I have to remember it's a small percentage and that there is always help.
If you are in a situation and think you need assistance, please contact the police and keep track of everything being done to you.
