Originally, I was supposed to drone on about millenials and narcissism. Boring, I know. Since boring is my specialty, I will concentrate on a different topic: rejection.

This one is for you, fellas.

If a lady (or gentleman) hesitates in the moments after you have asked them out, one of two things are going through their mind:

YESSS! Play it cool. Don’t freak out.

How do I reject him without sounding like a jerk?

Now, I can only speak for myself, but number two is the scenario in my head 99.99% of the time. Though I may believe that honesty is the best policy and have been known to be brutally honest, I realize the delicate feelings of a guy who just revealed vulnerability by asking me out need to be handled with care. I carefully measure my words so as to not hurt said person’s feelings.

But the minute he says, “Feel free to say no,” all regard for his feelings get thrown away. Now, my dear reader, you may be wondering why this offsets me. By telling me to “feel free to say no,” you are implying that I need your permission to say no. It is as if the act of saying no would torment me so much that by giving me your permission to say no, everything will be just fine.

So, why do some girls hesitate?

The issue within our society is the following: when a girl says no to a guy, she is a prude. When she says yes, she is a slut. God forbid she calls him out on it because then, she is a bitch. Ladies, we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

Unfortunately, we cannot change what people think. Honestly, who cares? As long as we are happy, healthy, and successful, what others think does not matter. If we operate out of fear of what others will think, we will never progress. Ignore what other people say and love your life.

Live and let live, right?

Amarelis Bracero