i remember when my friend sarah met the guy i was dating at the time. sarah knew me when we were 12 to 14, before she and her family moved to florida our sophomore year of high school. she loves to embarrass me by telling people about how i was in junior high. that night, she asked him how he and i got together. he told her it wasn't easy, that i made him work for it. she told him not to worry, that i'm always mean to the boys i like. that in junior high, if i liked someone, the way i would show it was by ignoring him and swearing to the death that i didn't like him. even though i did.

so if she's got you confused, you're probably in good standing, she said.

i would like to think i've grown a lot as a person since my pre-teen years. but let's be real. i still have trouble having appropriate reactions when i'm interested in someone.