Are you in love with a friend? Saying the wrong thing is even worse than not saying anything at all! Here’s how you can do it the right way. By Geninna Ariton
You may not always be a go getter, but you know very well that if
things will be left as they have always been, you will never know if you
can get what you want or who you want.
Your friend, your best friend, the very same person you always run to
whenever you have something inside your head and heart that sticks like
glue and annoys you like crazy until you have solved it, is the same
person creating this glue-like situation in the first place.
Declaring your feelings needs a little bit of creativity
Creativity means effort and thoughtfulness and will relay the message
that you would want more than what you have now. The worry wart in you
now asks, “What happens if I tell my friend how I feel?” Well, there is
only one way to find out, or in this case, 12 ways. Here are twelve
suggestions for how you can tell your friend that you want to be more
than just that.
#1 Snail mail is the answer. Handwritten love
letters are going extinct in this day and age. It is very rare to
receive one, probably because of the huge amount of effort that one
needs to put in to write a letter. You do not need to do this in one
sitting. In fact, you need to take your time on this. You can buy nice
sheets of paper or a nice card from a bookstore and start composing your
thoughts.
Write what you feel. Write how you felt the first day you met, and
for this, you can either add in a bit of humor or you can go all-out
romantic. Whatever it is that your friend makes you feel, take your time
to document it and describe it word per word.
Once you have composed, proofread and re-proofread, you can now send
it by post. Do not hand deliver it unless you are certain you would like
your friend to read the letter in front of you, as this might be
unavoidable. Also, sending it by post has a surprise element to it.
#2 Romantic comedies can give the message for you. Ask
your friend if you could dedicate one weekend for a movie marathon with
movies of your choice. Now, choose your movies wisely. Make sure that
the messages of these movies have only one theme – friends professing
their undying love toward each other. Think: One Day starring Anne
Hathaway and other similar movies.
After the movie marathon, you can now have a nice opening for
yourself by asking your friend, what they think of the movies. And if a
similar situation arises, what are they going to do. Then you can do
your own professing.
#3 Sing your heart out. You know what they say, if
you cannot express yourself in writing, sing it. Ask your friend to go
to a karaoke bar with you. Dedicate a couple of songs that expresses
what you feel and at the end of your mini-concert, tell your friend that
you hope they listened carefully to the message or the lyrics of the
song because that is what you meant to tell them all this time.
#4 Screaming it on the top of your lungs whilst in the middle of a roller coaster ride. Coupled
with that adrenaline rush that you feel whenever you feel like you are
being thrown off the edge of the rails will definitely pave the way to
confess your undying love for your friend.
Go spend a day at the amusement park and before you leave, ride the
fastest roller coaster. Hopefully, your friend will ride this with you
and when you feel like you are going to scream from sheer fear, scream
your feelings instead.
#5 Signs, signs, signs. Nothing says special and
effort than creating that moment when you tell your friend how you feel.
There are many sign companies that can do this for you. All you need is
a bit of research to find a jet writer or an ad space owner or an LCD
sign for hire.
The key is to find something that fits your budget but at the same
time conjuring the right message. It is best to say what you have been
feeling for your friend, and not to sprinkle it with too many words. If
you are scrimping on budget, you can take your friend to their favorite
coffee shop or restaurant. You could talk to the manager or someone in
charge to slip in a piece of paper in a menu before giving it to your
friend, or if they have a board like a chalkboard, whiteboard or
corkboard, you can ask them if you can write or put a message there.
#6 Have you ever been published? There are
newspapers and magazines that will allow publishing of messages for a
price. This will be nice if your friend is an avid reader of a
particular newspaper or magazine. You can have your message to them
published and be sure that you are present when they are reading it so
you can follow up on the lead.
#7 The way to anyone’s heart is through food. Prepare
a lavish feast, or just simple take out, whatever your friend’s
favourite food is. After the meal, make sure that you have space in the
stomach and time for dessert.
Now, you can use different kinds of material for this but the easiest
way is to get a tray or a large plate, fill it out entirely with
whipped cream, and using a chocolate syrup that hardens right away,
write your message on the tray. What you will produce will be a fluffy
white background made of whipped cream with a chocolate flavored written
message on top of it.
#8 Send a care package. There may be no one else who
knows your friend better than you do. A care package with all those
little things that you know your friend needs, like band-aids or
plasters, safety pins, gum, mints, chocolate, wet wipes, amongst many
others. The little things that they always forget to buy and you ended
up buying for them or they end up asking from you.
Put all of these in a small, handy pouch designed to their liking and
send it, along with a small, cheesy note that will tell them how you
truly feel for them and that you want to be more than friends.
#9 Spa day! If telling your friend about being more
than friends scares the hell out of you, relieve your tensed self first
by having a spa day. Invite your friend to go spend a relaxing day at
the spa, and before you guys leave, ask one of the personnel there to
tell the message to your friend. Be creative! You can have them relay
the message for you or you can make them say an opening that will make
it easier for you to say you don’t want to be just friends anymore.
#10 Get out of town and get into the wild. If your
friend is the adventurous type or wants to explore, try going out of
town with them to a new destination or go trekking somewhere. Do
something or go somewhere that the both of you haven’t gone to yet.
Then, whilst in the middle of everything, you can say, “I have always
wanted to do this, but I can only imagine doing it with you, and not as
your friend, but something more.”
#11 Surprise!!! An unplanned visit to the workplace
or to your friend’s school is always a great idea. It’s got an element
of surprise and it’ll definitely make your friend feel special. Go to
your friend’s office and surprise them with lunch, a gift or even a
bouquet of flowers. Include a little script for what you want to say,
and just express how you truly feel.
#12 Just do it. Just say it. At the end of it all,
you know you just want to get it off your chest. All you have to do is
to just say it, no theatrics, and no special preparation. Blurt it out
in the middle of shopping with your friend, or whilst watching TV, or
while driving home. This is great for those who think that grand
gestures will pale in comparison to a sincere confession of love.
Admitting your true feelings and asking to be more than friends will
always be a challenge. It puts you in a fragile, uncertain situation
where you do not know if your friend feels the same way. Don’t expect an
answer from them right away though.
Sometimes, they may also share the same feelings but they
just need time to process, so give them space if you have to. And if
they do not share the same feelings, try to keep the friendship. The
ball is now in your friend’s court. If your friend feels the same way,
great! If not, then at least you’ll never have to live with the what
ifs!
