Welcome to our second part of Matters of the Heart! We collected your most dire inquiries and conflictions to answer them in detail. Those still in need of advice, here is the form to submit for future parts. 

There is this super cute guy in my English class. We always talk, and he sees me as a friend. How do I let him know I like him as “more than friends??”

First, make it clear that you want to hang out with them outside of the class. You can even use a class assignment as an excuse.  Talk to him about more than schoolwork and get to know each other on a deeper level. If you really do like him romantically, just be honest, but make sure you are okay with the possibility of rejection and dealing with still seeing him everyday after. However, don’t let your anxiety hold you back, just be confident, you got this. 

How do I balance my social and academic life? I’m really struggling. 

You definitely are not alone because most people struggle with this, especially in high school. The best thing to do is plan ahead. Be aware of assignments you have due in the upcoming days and weeks so you can plan your social life around it. Conversely, if you are feeling overwhelmed and lonely, and know that spending time with friends is something that is important for your mental health, it is often totally acceptable to prioritize friends over school. Especially when it’s an assignment you know you will be able to finish later. Always make sure to check in with yourself, academics are important, but so is your mental wellbeing. 

How do I find out if a guy likes me or if he’s acting that way by accident? For example, going out of his way to move from the other side of a table to sit next to me?

Differentiation between platonic and romantic attention can be very difficult, but you’ll never know unless you ask or make some sort of move. If he really is going out of his way to sit next to you, it may not mean for sure that he is romantically interested, but he definitely enjoys being around you, which is a start. Romantic relationships often develop from friendships, so just see where it goes. 

A good definition on love?

Similar to many complex topics in life, love has a vast array of interpretations for many different types of people. Love is found in a variety of forms including, family love, friendship, romance and even a love for items or concepts. Love isn’t back or white and cannot be confined to a simple definition or phrase. 

How do you know if a guy is giving you attention because he likes you or just because he wants attention or is trying to be funny? 

Observe how he interacts with other people, and compare that to his interactions with you. That may provide some insight into whether he acts that way because he is interested or if he is only seeking-attention. 

I have a Fortnite addiction.

The World Health Organization defines a gamer disorder as, “A pattern of gaming behavior (“digital-gaming” or “video-gaming”) characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.” Navigate to this link for more resources.