Dear Dr. Love,I am nineteen years old. I’ve known this girl for about a year. This year I am a senoir in high school. This girl is in my class and I can’t get her off my mind because I think she is so fine. I think about her day and night. I want to be with her, but I’m scared of what my friends might think and what if she has a boyfriend or if she says no. Even now writing this letter to you, I’m constantly thinking about her. I can’t sleep at night.There’s one more reason why. My family and I are going to move to Florida after I graduate. Even if she says yes, we won’t be together for long. Is it worth it? I’ve heard that long distance relationships never really work out. Can you help a lost person in love find his way to true happiness?
Your level of love is so beautiful. I don’t understand what you mean by being scared about what your friends would think. Do you mean that your friends wouldn’t approve of your choice. I know that peer pressure is a real issue for you, but sooner, hopefully rather than later, you will need to have the courage to follow your heart, do what’s right for you no matter what your friends say. This is part of growing up. In the end, your friends can’t live your life, only you can.Now, as for maintaining a long-distance love affair, you are getting way ahead of yourself. We don’t even know if she’s free. So, do some homework and find out if she’s available. If you really feel brave, you can tell her yourself that you are interested in knowing her better and wonder if she is dating someone else now. I guess you are afraid to approach her for fear of rejection. I suggest you search my Advice Archives under the key words: shy, fear of rejection and scared to make the first move. These articles should help you move forward with her. Once you are dating her, you can deal with the issue of separation when and if it arrives.Who knows what the future holds. Your family may not move, she may move closer. If and when the distance becomes a problem, you will deal with that bridge when it’s time to cross it. Try to live in the moment and deal with the current hand. For now you have your hands full just to work up the courage to ask her out. Go for it. Enjoy her now. Life is short. Love hard.