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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.

The Crush Curse: something that I personally feel is worse than seven years of bad luck from walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella inside. Crushes are inevitable and we all develop them whether we admit it to our friends or not. We’ve all had that person in our lives that make our cheeks flush red and voice nonexistent when we try and speak. The issue then becomes whether you ever act on that crush.

If you ever have acted on a crush, you are aware of the great deal of courage and forwardness it takes. For some people that’s just fine, but for others that sounds like pure torture. We don’t choose who we develop crushes for – it just sort of happens. The calculation that goes into talking to them or planning out a time to “run into them” feels more like you’re planning mission impossible. In a way, it can feel like a punishment because your day-to-day interactions with this person messes with your head.  

 

How do you know when to draw the line? How to do you know if they just aren’t into you like that? How do you know if you are just overanalyzing the entire situation and blowing it completely out of proportion?

 

I’m going to be completely honest with you. The only true way you will ever know if your crush feels the same way is if you ask them. That’s the only way to break the curse. You don’t need to be looking for a relationship right away, you are more so just looking for confirmation that they are in fact interested in you the same way. It’s best to be on the same page so no signals are misread. That way you will know if you’re being ghosted or if their intentions are just to hook up.

 

This isn’t a rom-com – things aren’t just going to fall into place! You might need to take matters into your own hands and take action.

Another good way to recognize if your crush probably doesn’t feel the same way is to pay attention to how much you reach out. What I mean by this is how much you go out of your way to talk to them and hang out with them. If you are always the one reaching out, then they probably aren’t as invested in getting to know you as you are. In all honesty this sucks, but at least you can better dedicate that time elsewhere rather than wasting it on someone not worth your time.

Another great way to recognize if your crush doesn’t feel the same way is if they are talking to other people. If your crush is talking to other people they probably are not invested in just talking to you exclusively. This is fine, but recognize that you’re not the only person, which probably means it’s time to look elsewhere because chances are your feelings is going to get hurt.

There is also the possibility that your crush just sees you as a friend and doesn’t want anything more. A lot of the time, at least in my experience, I have found out years later from friends about little crushes they had developed.

It happens: crushes are inevitable. We all have hormones pumping through our veins. Just be conscious and prepared so that if you do ever choose to act on it, you have an idea of where your crush stands.

 

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Siena Pieruccini is currently a senior at UIUC, she is a currently double majoring in Political Science and Communication. When she isn't back home in Chicago downing coffee or binge-watching Vice she can be found editing her own Youtube videos and planning her next exotic excursion. Siena is passionate about perusing a career in politics as well as being the ultimate #girlboss and advocating for change. Follow her on Instagram @sienapie or Youtube @sienapievlogs.