-- Posted by Anonymous at 2:46 pm on Sep. 30, 2008 I'm definitely in love with this guy.  He's 19 and in a college 45 min away from where I live, and I see him around 2 times a week because he comes out and helps with youth group at our church.  He's been an EXTREME mentor to me, and maybe I'm just attracted to the fact that he likes me for me and really cares about me and would do just about anything to help me if I needed it.   But here's the problem... I'm 16, and still in high school.  So even though he's nice and sweet and just about the greatest guy anyone could ever know, this probably isn't the time for us to be together; and we probably will NEVER be together, because I know he doesn't feel the same way about me... I'm just his awesome high school friend.   So i don't know what to do.  I love him, and in that sense, he doesn't love me back, and I obviously can't tell him that I love him, because if I did, he would just take it as an "I love you as a brother in Christ" sort of thing. That's my problem. -- Posted by JennyColada at 10:16 am on Oct. 2, 2008 It seems like you already seem to know that trying to move forward on your feelings at this time may not be the best choice. Pretty much everyone at some point or another has had feelings or a crush on someone that either wasn't reciprocated or they feel shouldn't be acted on. It's unfortaunte, but it happens. Him being older and farther away would make things tough even if his feelings were reciprocated. But, it is very normal to have feelings for someone, especially if they helped us or were a mentor to us, as this guy was to you. Feelings of respect and admiration are often misinterpreted as feelings of lust or love, so it really makes sense that you would want to profess love to this guy. That's another reason why it may be a good choice for you not to. Most people appreciate knowing that they're admired, and telling him that you appreciate his friendship and care for him will probably get the point that you want to make across to him. However, trying to tell him that you love him may do more harm than good.