Wellcome to the first edition of the Daily Olivian’s Advice Column! If you have any dilemmas that need solving or questions about school or life, feel free to email one of the editors or DM the Daily Olivian Instagram!
Our first question that needs answering is “I think this kid in my math class likes me, but I don’t want to call him out on it”.
Ah, high school romance. High school is a weird time for love, right? You never truly know what is going on in other people’s heads; and honestly, most of the time you don’t know what’s going on in yours. It is probably best to not be super direct about confrontation, because who knows what this guy is thinking.
To solve the problem you must figure out what you want. Do you like him too and want to pursue something. Or are you not interested and want to find a way to let him down easy?
If you are not interested in him, then there is a very simple solution. Don’t do anything about it. It is better to not confront him about it or try to let him down easy. Don’t confront him about it if you are not interested because who knows if he actually likes you or if you are just reading into it. You don’t want to have an awkward conversation with him, just for it to be even more awkward when he informs you that he was not interested in you in the first place. Another reason why if you are not interested you should just let it pass is because it is not necessary to have the conversation and crush his dreams. To be 100% honest with you, this is high school and most people have a new crush every month. Eventually he will probably move on and it is better to let it happen naturally instead of confronting him and probably hurting his feelings.
If you are interested in pursing him though, that is a whole different story. I would definitely try to feel out the situation first; but I say make a move! If you are both interested in each other, why not try to see if something is possible. Life is too short to not shoot your shot! I would be completely direct with him. Don’t play games or try to be subtle. It can be nerve-racking to be so blunt, but it will be received well and appreciated. Worst case scenario, it’s a no and you both move on and forget that it ever happened a month later. trust me, I have been in the situation before. I had a class with someone I liked and asked them out. They said no, and we moved on. We saw each other in class every day and the awkwardness passed in two weeks tops.
Everything in high school seems like the end of the world, when in reality everyone forgets everything that happened the year after they leave. To shoot your shot, I say do it either in person or over text. If you do it in person, wait until you have lunch in that class and talk to them during lunch. If it doesn’t work out, you go your separate ways and sit with your friends at lunch. If it does work, spend that lunch together chatting. If doing it in person is way too scary, just shoot them a text. Say that you think they might like you, and confirm with them before you try to make your move. If he is interested, let him know that you are too and take it from there.
High school crushes can be scary and confusing and no one ever seems to act on them. I never understood this. Why not just see what happens when you make a move. Worst case scenario it isn’t reciprocated and everyone moves on. Best case scenario, you get a partner out of it! So why not just give it a try because you never know what could happen.