What do you even do as a young person trying to navigate relationships today? 😂 Seriously, these days it is just crazy, you grow up hearing that you should be honest about your feelings, communicate, care about people and treat someone properly. Then you start entering into the dating world and suddenly you’re told that showing too much emotion makes you weak, caring too much makes you a “simp" and doing something nice for someone apparently means you’re being played. So which one are we supposed to follow?
I think one of the hardest things about relationships today is that nobody wants to be the person who cares more. Everyone is trying to "protect" themselves. You don't want to text first too many times, you don't want to reply too quickly, you don't want to admit you actually like someone because what if they don't feel the same way,? or worse what if they are leading you on. You don't want to put in too much effort because what if they take advantage of you? Eventually, dating starts feeling less like two people trying to build something and more like two people playing chess, each waiting for the other person to make the first mistake and social media, my ow my social media🤦 definitely hasn't helped. We constantly see people talking about “red flags,” “high value men,” “high value women,” “don't chase,” “know your worth,” “never double text,” and a million other rules that make relationships sound like some kind of strategic battlefield. 😂 Sometimes I wonder whether we're actually learning how to love people or just learning how to avoid getting hurt.
For me , there is a difference between genuine affection and allowing someone to disrespect you. There is a difference between loving someone and losing yourself completely in them and of course a difference between being generous and being exploited. Somehow, we've started treating those things as if they're the same. You can have boundaries and still be affectionate, you can love someone and still walk away when they mistreat you. Dont ever be afraid to walk away
Sometimes i wonder about the older generations, was dating always this complicated? like did our parents and grandparents also sit around wondering whether replying too quickly would make them look desperate? 😂 Did someone in the 1980s say, “Don't tell her you miss her, bro. She'll think you're a simp”? Obviously, relationships have always had problems. People have always cheated, lied, manipulated each other and broken hearts. The past wasn't some romantic paradise where everybody found their soulmate and lived happily ever after.
Today, you can be talking to someone you genuinely like while simultaneously watching hundreds of videos telling you why you shouldn't trust them. Lol! You can have one disagreement and suddenly TikTok has diagnosed your entire relationship, but despite all of this, I still believe genuine love is possible. I have to. Otherwise, what's the point? I'd rather be someone who can still care deeply than someone who is so terrified of being called a “simp” that they eventually become incapable of showing anyone that they care at all.
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