I'm not speaking for all girls, but I'm pretty sure we've all been here at some point. You match with a super cute guy from your university on Tinder, and the messaging begins. He's got a great face and personality to go with it. Everything is going smoothly and you hang out soon after matching. You go to message or text him after hanging out and you get no response. He completely ignores everything you send.
Just like that, you're ghosted.
When did this evolve? Truthfully, I didn't experience it full-on until college began, but I do remember being ghosted my senior year of high school. The guy was super excited to hang out at Homecoming, only to avoid me the entire time there and afterward. It hurt me a lot, but I shook it off.
Thankfully he didn't go to my high school, so forgetting about him wasn't very hard.
Being ghosted slowly eats away at a girls ability to trust a guy, let alone anyone else. We think, oh this one will be different, he looks like a genuine guy. He would never ghost me! LADIES we cannot afford to be this gullible anymore. We open our hearts, and in some cases our legs to boys, hoping that we get their heart in return. It never happens and we get shattered a little more every time. Guys don't get just how damaging it is to our self-esteem to just steal away our trust and leave like nothing happened.
To the guys who laugh about leaving girls on read and ghosting them, check yourself. Girls act like they're strong, but we're just patching up scars you reopened, putting on a brave face while sewing up the stitches carefully. Instead of ghosting us, maybe just tell a girl straight up you aren't interested instead of playing the ghosting card because it's the easy way out.
A girl will respect you far more if you just be real with her, gentlemen. One day the girl you want is going to see right through your slick words and looks and ghost you before you get the chance to ask for her number. Then you'll truly feel the pain you've put so many others through.
As much as ghosting has damaged my self-esteem and trust towards the male race, I'm thankful that I've gone through it. All of this ghosting has lead me to someone who treats me like a real man should. Granted my insecurities come out sometimes, but he's never given me a single reason not to trust him, so I'm slowly rebuilding my trust in the male race again.
SEE ALSO: Ghosting Is Emotional Abuse And Our Generation Needs To Stop Doing It
Overthinking about every little thing is something many girls are forced to deal with on a regular basis. We wonder who that girl is commenting on his post or why he likes her pictures but not yours. When you ghost us, we're forced to overthink every message the next guy sends, wondering if one day they'll just stop. I'm guilty as charged, to this day I still wonder if one day I'll wake up and not have any text or Snapchat back, and it'll be like that forever.
Being ghosted has made me cautious with what I say and do, and made me stronger through it, despite the few lingering negative effects I can't seem to shake off. I'm fully aware of my worth, and no one defines that but me.
As much as ghosting sucks, ladies, we have to thank boys for it. Without it, you wouldn't be the strong girl you are today.
