Falling in love with your best friend can be both amazing and life changing, but equally as terrifying and nerve wracking. There are multiple stages of developing strong feelings for someone who you previously only saw as a friend, which can be related to the well known Likert Scale. You experience an abundance of emotions and you can’t quite figure out what you are truly feeling, but the Likert Scale can help put things in perspective. For example:

1. Strongly Disagree:

My best friend and I would hang out every day and were basically attached at the hip. After awhile, we couldn’t go a day without hearing, “you guys should date!” or “you guys would look so cute together!” It felt like the comments would never stop and eventually I began to get annoyed. I had no romantic feelings for my best friend, nor could I ever imagine having any! Couldn’t two people spend a lot of time together and just be friends?

2. Disagree:

It was suddenly as if every time we went out together, all people would ask me was if we were secretly dating. I was asked that question so much that I became immune to it and just brushed it off. I still didn’t think of my best friend as more than a friend, but I was so used to hearing people make comments about us that I didn’t mind as much. I still felt that they were wrong, but I wasn't phased.

3. Undecided:

With everyone’s comments constantly playing in my head, it was hard to avoid thinking about what they were saying. The more thought I actually put into it, the more I began to wonder what they saw between my best friend and I. Was I missing something? I sat back and thought about what made my best friend so great. He was thoughtful, compassionate, funny - everything I would look for in a boyfriend. We obviously got along great and had an incredible friendship...uh oh. I began to understand why people would mention that we would be great together, but I told myself I couldn’t develop feelings for him. It would be too weird, right? I felt more confused than ever.

4. Agree:

It all started: I began to get more excited when he texted me and nervous when he picked me up. I wanted to spend even more time with him than I already was and when we were apart, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I finally accepted the fact that I wanted to be more than friends with him and I hoped he was starting to feel the same.

5. Strongly Agree:

Almost two years later, my best friend and I are dating and I couldn’t be happier. I understand why everyone thought we would make a great couple and why they pushed us to get together. Now, I truly do believe all the best relationships start as friendships. I feel so grateful to have both a best friend and a boyfriend as special as he is, so to everyone who made comments and made me realize that we should date - thank you!