Feelings I had for my classmate were obviously one-sided (pretty sure of it), so I made a reasonable decision to never confess to not make things awkward. In a few years since we graduated I finally moved on, although I never loved anyone this much since.
Yet all this time I had a desire to tell her about them. I would definitely want to know if someone loved me this much ever. Would she? I don’t know. I don’t even know if she is in a relationship right now or not.
I would really want to cite some scientific study that “Over 80% of girls have their self-confidence lifted after being told they were secretly admired (p<0.05)”, but can’t find one.
Yeah, I think this is something that ever gets truly registered in the naivety and confidence of a young adult’s mind, once it bites you in a consequential way.
Can’t talk for everyone here, but I definitely shared the hubris once, the lack of perspective, once upon a time when I was in my 20s. Based on all the late evenings spent recollecting past lives with so many different people through the years, I think it’s just being human, a shared experience, a trial of fire for adulthood, if you will.
To op: Worth listening to everyone here. It might not feel justified or reasonable to you now, but you might consider that all that might come from a place of experience and goodwill.