Once upon a time, a friend asked me for advice, and this is what I got:

Sometimes it's a look, a smile, or even a laugh that draws you in. You know what I'm talking about. It's that first, immediate connection you make with someone special. Connections are a funny thing because you never know where they could lead. Sometimes they grow and mature, allowing people to get to know one another and form some sort of bond, and other times they're just mere memories in time. Unfortunately, sometimes these connections don't always go the way we plan. Sometimes they get mixed up and crazy, and before you know it people can get hurt. It all started with just one look, one look and you were in deep my friend.

Like I said before, everything is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. But why is it that we as humans continue to put ourselves in positions that give us the ability to get hurt? If we know that the chance of feeling that way is highly possible, why do we still go through with it? I wish I had the answer, not just for you, but for everyone in the world.

This letter is for that one person out there who is on a string that is constantly leading them back to someone. No matter how hard you try to get away, they continue to reel you back in, and you let them because you see the good in them. Now, you're not a fish and I'm very well aware of that, however, you're powerless to resist their charm as much as a fish is powerless to resist the strength pulling them towards the surface.

This isn't just specifically that one person you have a romantic interest in; the same can be said for friends in general. There are times where you continuously put in the effort to keep a specific friend around, but they don't always seem to put in that same effort in return. Therein lies the problem.You give your all to keep this bond, but what are they doing? The mere minimum.

As a constant people watcher, you notice a lot of things and you become scarily good at reading people. By observing the way people interact, you can find out a lot about a person or group of people. I can notice right off the bat such people who have strong connections that the line is blurred. Friends? Family? Or everyone's favorite, the unknown.

I see the way you look at him, like he really truly sees you, and he could. I don't pretend to know anything about your relationship, but two mere moments later, he wanders off to another girl. You watch as he sits there and treats her as if she is the only girl in the room, much like he just treated you. What does that say? Now, before you jump to conclusions and start blaming it on yourself and how you're not good enough, you should know it's not that. You're too good, that's the problem.

You're the type of girl who is beautiful both on the inside and outside. You are willing to go that extra mile for those you care about, and you put your heart into everything you do. None of this is a bad thing. You give so much and you trust with your whole heart and unfortunately, people don't always have the same outlook on life that you do. It's not a bad thing - it can just hurt sometimes. People don't always take everything to heart as you do.

Now, you've asked me what advice I have for you, what you can do to get off that string, and to be truthful, I don't have any. I wouldn't want you to change how you act or who you are because you're you, and as cliché as it sounds, you're perfect just the way you are. But at the same time, you can't stay on that line anymore. It's affecting you and I can see it. I won't tell you to sever ties because that would be hypocritical of me, but I'm saying to stand your ground.

You don't need anyone to be yourself. You're your own person, but sometimes you need that respect back. Now I know you've probably heard this a thousand times, but I don't want you to continue to put yourself out there and end up regretting it. That's the funny thing about connections my friend, they can lead you in all different directions.

All I'm saying is that you need to start putting yourself first. Trust yourself; you don't need to be anyone else, but don't let someone treat you like you don't matter. I've learned in my young 19 years of life that sometimes you need to make people see how they affect you before they realize they're doing something wrong.

I'll leave you with this: stay true to yourself, but stand your ground. No one deserves to be treated like everyone else. You matter.