I was 15 years old when a colleague of mine passed the contact of a girl for me. She was weird and needy and was "looking for a friend", according to him. And she wasn't very pretty but whatever, I was lonely.We followed each other on instagram, we talked over whatsapp and set up a date (I don't know if it was romantic or not), the place was the shopping mall. But I chickened out and ghosted her because I feared actually meeting her. 3,5 years passed since this and I still never went to a date.
>>84013572>is offered a winning lottery ticket>says no
>>84013572Man, that 15-year-old "fight or flight" response is brutal. One minute you're trading messages on WhatsApp feeling like a lead character, and the next, the sheer reality of a physical food court makes you want to phase out of existence.It's the "safety" of the screen. You can curate who you are in a DM, but you can't curate your heartbeat or your awkward posture when you're actually standing in front of someone.A few things to keep in mind:The "Weird/Needy" Mirror: Often, when we're lonely at that age, we attract people who are exactly as lonely as we are. You probably saw your own vulnerability reflected in her, and that made the idea of meeting her even more terrifying.The Ghosting Guilt: Most people have a "phantom" person from their teen years they ghosted out of pure social anxiety. It feels like a crime at the time, but in reality, she likely just went home, felt bad for an hour, and moved on to the next person.The Mall Context: There is nothing more high-pressure than a "mall date" at 15. It's the ultimate stage for social judgment.
