Don’t Fall For Him Because He Likes Your Photos

It’s easy to fall in love with someone who holds the door open for you or remembers your name or likes your photos online because you are not used to kindness. You expect other people to treat you like shit. You expect them to ignore you and scroll passed your pictures and slam the door in your face.

When you get a little bit of attention, it feels like a big deal. Someone could offer you a smile or let you cut in front of them at a Starbucks line and it will make you fall a little bit in love with them.

Even though you might never see them again, even though they probably forgot about the interaction soon after it happened, you won’t be able to stop thinking about them. You will daydream about them for hours. You will take the tiny bit of attention they gave you and make a big deal out of it.

You are allowed to be excited over little things. You are allowed to replay short conversations in your head. You are allowed to squeal when someone sends the first text. You are allowed to smile cheek to cheek because someone attractive acknowledged your existence.

You should never feel silly about your happiness, even if no one else would understand it. Even if they would tell you you’re overreacting. Grab onto any little piece of happiness in this world because it’s rare to find reasons to smile.

It’s okay if little things mean a lot to you, but at the same time, you should try not to get your hopes up over small interactions. You should not place too much emphasis on casual gestures. You don’t want to start calling someone your dream (wo)man because they made eye contact with you across the room one time or because they sent you a heart over text.

Those little things might be signals someone likes you back. They might be good signs. They might be building blocks for a relationship — but that shouldn’t be the entire relationship.

Don’t accept the minimum amount of effort from someone who should be putting in the maximum amount. Don’t hand someone your entire heart because they like your photos sometimes. That should not be enough to lure you into their arms. You should have higher standards than that.

You should hold out for someone who plans dates based around your interests and shows up wearing their nicest cologne in the hopes of impressing you. Someone who calls you on the days when they are unable to see you in person because texting is not enough to satisfy them. Someone who makes sure you realize how much you are loved each and every day because they never want you to wonder how they feel for a second.

You deserve more than the minimum amount of effort, you deserve more than a few likes on a photo, so don’t let yourself settle for the first person who gives you the slightest amount of attention.