I knew it wasn’t right. I felt it early on, in the small moments that didn’t quite sit right, in the inconsistencies I tried not to look at too closely, in the way something always felt slightly off even when I tried to convince myself it wasn’t. But I stayed [...]
I’m most interested when I have to figure them out. When they’re not fully available, when the energy isn’t completely clear, when there’s just enough distance to keep me leaning in. That’s when I’m paying attention, when I’m invested, when I’m thinking about it more than I should. Because it [...]
You were never meant to be an option. Not the backup plan, not the maybe, not the person someone circles back to when it’s convenient. You were never meant to sit in uncertainty waiting to be chosen. That was never your role. But somewhere along the way, you allowed yourself [...]
I knew what I should have said. I knew where I should have drawn the line, where I should have spoken up, where I should have made it clear what I was and wasn’t okay with. It wasn’t a lack of awareness. It was a lack of action. Because I [...]
You told yourself not to get attached. You said it early, like a rule you were going to follow this time. Keep it light, keep it simple, don’t read too much into it, don’t let it become anything more than what it is. But somewhere along the way, that changed. [...]
It feels like you miss them, but if you slow down and really sit with it, it’s not actually them you’re craving. It’s the routine, the familiarity, the way they became part of your day without you even realizing it. The checking in, the conversations, the little moments that slowly [...]
Dear Tessa, I kept thinking that if I just gave a little more, things would change. If I showed up more, if I was more understanding, more patient, more consistent, that he would meet me there. I thought maybe he just needed to feel it more, to see it more, [...]
It feels different. That is how it starts. The connection, the chemistry, the way certain moments hit just a little deeper than usual. The conversations feel easy, the energy feels natural, and there is something about it that stands out from everything else. So you start to believe it. That [...]
It was literally just eye contact. A second. Maybe two. Nothing dramatic, nothing anyone else would notice, nothing that would mean anything in a logical sense. But in that moment, it felt like something. And once it feels like something, my brain is already gone. Because now it is not [...]
Dear Tessa, I don’t really understand why I do this, but every time something starts to feel real, I pull back. In the beginning, everything is easy. I’m present, I’m interested, I’m consistent. But as soon as it starts getting deeper, when there’s more emotion, more expectation, more connection, something [...]
