It’s the holiday season, and I’m not sure how to curb these feelings of loneliness. Last Christmas I had a boyfriend, and now I don’t — but I still feel the same!
Unrequited love is a painful yet universal experience caused by strong feelings for someone who does not or cannot reciprocate, such as a close friend who only sees your relationship as platonic. This type of feeling is often romanticized due to its idealized portrayal in the media — I myself am guilty of finding it so romantic when it comes to Mr. Darcy’s initial one-sided love for Elizabeth in Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice.”
Dear Abby: I feel like my boyfriend doesn’t love me anymore, or at least he doesn’t love being around me. We’ve been together for some time now, and he treats me totally differently than when we first met. We don’t even go on dates anymore. What is going on?
Dear Abby: My boyfriend is super popular with the ladies and it’s upsetting me. He's a really nice guy, but I feel like girls are drooling all over him. His ex is also still on campus too and I feel weird knowing they still interact. I know I’m probably being dramatic, but how can I possibly compete? And am I being too possessive by getting jealous?
Have you ever heard the saying that jealousy is a green-eyed monster? Well, newsflash, it’s also a two-faced paradox. One of the undeniable truths about relationships is that there are different standards to how we perceive jealousy.
Dear Abby: Tell me, is it weird to want your boyfriend to put you on his Instagram? I got no post for National Girlfriend’s Day this year, and every time I ask him about it, he gets all weird. I don’t want to bring it up because then I sound like I’m forcing him, but shouldn’t he be proud to post me? Or am I just being dramatic?
Dear Abby: I’m dying to know — do you think it’s true that for a relationship to work, the guy always has to love the girl more? I feel like I’ve always loved my boyfriends more, but things always fizzle out. Is it because I’m the one loving harder?
So many female celebrities get hate from other women for similarly arbitrary reasons, and it all comes from internalized misogyny. It is time to stop this ugly behavior of women tearing down other women and leave it behind in middle school.
