about

Hey everyone! My name is Kristen, I'm 20 and I'm a college junior studying pharmacy. I've been blessed with a really good life, and part of the reason for that is because I've learned to see GOOD in everything that happens to me.

I love giving advice, and I've been told that I do a good job at it, but I'll let you decide! Feel free to ask me anything... don't be shy, that's why I'm here. I've been through a lot... moving from one country to another, leaving and finding new friends, break ups, boys, middle school, high school, college, self esteem issues... pretty much most things that people need help with.

I usually spend a good amount of time answering your questions, so I would really appreciate it if you leave me an honest rating along with some feedback (good or bad!) It really does help me improve my advice... and in the end, that's good for YOU! Talk to ya soon! :)

advice


if you shower in cold water does it really make your hair shinier? or does anyone know other ways to make your hair shiny?
thanks!
i rate high

hey! it is absolutely true that cold water is good for your hair... i even asked my hair dresser and he said it's true! you don't have to freeze in the shower by having the cold water on the whole time... just use warm water... warm enough that you aren't freezing, but not scorching hot because it will dry out your hair and your skin. after you are done shampooing and conditioning, turn on the cold water and soak your hair in it... it will close up the pores (which open up during your hot shower)... and closing the pores will help eliminate frizz and make it shinier! :) let me know if you need more help!

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is chlorine good for your skin? when i go in a pool for a while, get out, and take a shower, the next day my skin is soft. is chlorine bad for your hair too?

hey well i agree with what everyone else said so i won't repeat it, but i don't think chlorine is good or bad for your skin... it just all depends on how well you take care of your skin to begin with. as far as your hair, chlorine is not good for it at all. the best thing to do before going in a pool is soaking your hair in fresh water in the shower, and then going into the pool. that way your hair will absorb very little pool water, and the chlorine won't damage it as much!! :)

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on canal street in new york do they really have people with stolen goods that have the real designer bags? do the bags on the street look verry real even though they are fake? 5's for anyone that comments =)

hey! ok just so you know, when you are there some people selling bags will try and tell you that they have the real thing and they stole it from the store and are now selling it to you at a cheaper price. that is probably the biggest lie ever... everything on that street is FAKE! if you "stole" a real louis vuitton purse and could sell it for over 1,000 dollars, why would you sell it for 20?? it just makes no logical sense... not to mention that if you go into a louis vuitton store or any other designer store like that, there is pretty much a person watching every purse in there... and most of them are even locked up in glass boxes! it's impossible to steal from there... it's just a lie that they use to get you to buy their stuff or pay more for them.

but the thing is, even though they are all fake, many of them look exactly like the real thing. i got a louis vuitton that is identical to the real one... even the zippers and the inside is marked exactly right. no one even suspects that it's fake unless i tell them, and even then they are surprised. why spend so much money on something when you can get something identical for much less? of course the quality is much lower... but who cares, it's worth it!

if you want to buy a fake purse from there, just google the brand you want along with something like "spot fakes" or something like that... you should get websites explaining to you what the real thing looks like, and what many fakes are missing. that way you can shop around for the fake that looks the most like the real thing! :) good luck and let me know if you need more help!

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ok sorry if this may seem gross but this is it:
when ever my frinds make me laugh they make me laugh hard. i laugh so hard...... i pee in my pants,what should i do is this normal?do not ask me to talk to a doctor or my mom either (personal reason).

hey! ok basically you're not very good at being able to hold in your pee, and when you laugh, a little bit comes out. it's normal, it happens to people all the time! one thing you can do to fix it is learn to hold your pee in. when you have to go to the bathroom next time, sit on the toilet, and as you are peeing, let a little bit go, and then hold the rest in. wait a few seconds, pee a little bit, and hold the rest in. do this a couple of times every time you pee and eventually you shouldn't have this problem anymore. in the meantime, wear panty liners just in case, and go to the bathroom a lot during the day and before going out with your friends! :) good luck and let me know if you need more help!

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im supposed to think of 3 different types of songs for our 8th grade farewell dance (im on student council) and i need a "Rap/hip hop" song, a "slow" song and a "overall" song..by overall they mean how the year meant..and it was good and bad and i cannot think of ANY!

5s for anything.and i mean anything!

hey! ok i just thought of a good idea... google something like "2006 music charts" and you will get lists of popular songs of this year or any other year! here are a couple:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/index.jsp

go to the bottom of that page and click one of the links under "billboard hot 100" to get the names of popular songs!! :)




_________________________________________________

hey! hmm ok here is a couple:

rap/hip hop:

bubba sparxx - miss new booty
chamillionaire - riding dirty
2 live crew - get it girl

slow song:

gavin degraw - we belong together
the afters - beautifil love

overall song:

vitamin C - graduation



sorry i couldn't think of any more right now, but if you need more, let me know... i'm sure i'll think of more! :) good luck!



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I'm looking for clothing companies that design clothes that have a sort of bohemian, retro-esque look similar to the clothes at Forever 21, Gadzooks, and 579. What are some other clothing companies and stores that sell that kind of clothing?

Thank you.

hey!! other stores in that same category are:

wet seal
body central
charlotte russe
rampage
rainbow
rave
lola

you can also try big department stores like macy's because a lot of stuff in their juniors section resembles the kind of clothing at these other stores!

looking at stores like marshall's and TJ Maxx is also a good idea because they get all their clothes from big department stores and sell them for much cheaper!! :) good luck, let me know if you need more help!

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I spilled soda on my phone yesterday and it broke and now I'm afraid to tell my parents. It was an accident, the soda leaked in my purse, it wasnt out of carelessness or anything, but I dont know how to approach telling my parents!!

aaww, well if it was an accident then i'm sure they will understand and won't freak out about it. just go up to them and explain what happened... tell them the soda got knocked over and spilled all over your purse, and now your phone won't turn on. they might get frustrated about it, but they will realize that it was an accident, and let's face it, they are old enough to know that accidents happen. offer to pay for the new phone, or if you don't have a job or money, offer to do chores or something to make it up to them for getting you a new phone. if you are nice and calm about it and let them know that you are willing to do something in return for their favor, they should be more understanding!

lastly, when you go to the phone store, ask if they can put a new battery on the phone to see if it works. pretty much the entire back of the phone that comes off is the batery, and when i dropped my cell in the toilet (lovely i know), i went to the store, they tried a new battery on and it worked! plus they were nice and gave me the battery for free! if that doesn't work then you will have to get a new phone... and if your parents don't want to spend a lot of money, you might have to settle for the cheapest cell phone in the store! good luck, let me know if you need more help! :)

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Hi. I was new at my high school last year. I joined a group of people that I found things in common with and we're good friends now. Well, I know some of my friends better than others, and a guy that I barely knew within our group of friends started to take interest in me. I didn't like him, but I decided to give him a chance and we started going out on dates. Then, a few weeks later, we started going out. I don't like him as anything more than a friend and I don't know what caused me to make such a reckless and stupid decision. A week ago I tried to break up with him. I just told him that we didn't know each other well enough and should just get to know each other as friends. Well, the same night we ended up deciding not to break up, which was a really really bad move. Now I'm worrying about it every day and trying to think of what to say to him this time. He's going to be so disappointed and hurt. He takes any relationship he has (he's been in one other relationship) very seriously and now he's going to have to pay for my mistake. Last time he cried. Right now he's not aware that there's anything wrong. I think he's beginning to like me even more. I feel so guilty and so stupid. I think that I just wanted to be in a relationship and I didn't think clearly. Part of it was influence from all of our friends. It was like everyone wanted us to be together. I felt kind of pressured. Please help!

hey!! alright, i'm not going to tell you this is going to be easy, because it won't be at all. breaking up with someone is probably just as hard as having someone break up with you. when you see the other person in pain over something that you did, you can't help but stay with him because, let's face it, most people don't like to hurt others on purpose. but in this case, even though it seems that you are hurting him by breaking up with him, really you are just making things easier for him. how is that? well, first of all, you are breaking up with him now, and not in say 2 months because that would be a lot harder for him to handle. the longer you are with someone, the harder it is to deal with breaking up with them. so if he is crying now, imagine how he would take it in 2 months, when he has gotten even closer to you. second of all, you are making his life easier because you are letting him know you have no feelings for him. a relationship involves two people who truly care for one another, and they each give equally to make the relationship work. if he likes you, but you don't like him, he is giving you a lot more than you are giving him, and that's not fair to him. if you don't have feelings for him, you owe it to him to leave him and let him find a girl that will return those feelings.

basically, don't feel like you are doing something wrong. you never did anything wrong. you ended up with this guy, you grew and learned from it, and now you know how to read your own feelings... you know what you want, and that's a really, really good thing! as far as what to do when you break up with him... sit down and talk to him. tell him he really is a great person, but the feelings for him are just not there anymore. reassure him that he did nothing wrong, and tell him that you want what is best for him, and that is why you are leaving him. tell him he gives you more than you give him, and you want him to find a girl who feels the same for him as he feels for her because it is only fair. tell him that all break ups are hard, and even though he may think he will never get over it, he will eventually and he will become a stronger person because of it. reassure him that you are there for him if he needs anything during the healing process.

it won't be easy, and he probably will cry or try to talk you out of it... but hold your ground, and as hard as it may be, don't decide to stay with him. you won't suddenly have feelings for him and make the relationship work... if the feelings aren't there now, they're not going to be there in the future. if he tries to talk you into staying with him, listen to what he says, but use the things i said above to explain to him why it is not a good idea. after the break up, don't talk to him for a while... at least for a month! explain to him that it's the best choice because otherwise he will never get over you completely, and he will always be in pain about it when he sees you. it might be hard for you not to talk to him, and you might miss him at times and regret your decision... that comes with all break ups. but trust your feelings and don't talk to him for a while... he needs to heal, even if it means you suffering a bit in the process. when i broke up with my bf, he didn't want to break up, and we kept talking and ended up back together and breaking up like 5 times! it was terrible... you don't want to end up there, so just cut him out for a while. we did that eventually and didn't talk for 2 months, and now things are great between us! :) good luck and let me know if you need more help! sorry it's sooooooo long!

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k, 2 questions.
1. is bare minerals worth the money? whats good & bad about it

2. would it be good for my skin type(i have combonation skin, and around my nose my skin is flaky even when i put moisturizer on, so sometimes liquid makeup makes it look worse, because under my nose is red & really flaky,idk why its been like that for like the past year, so the makeup makes it look disgusting & cakey & just weirdd loll)

thanks

hey!! ok let's answer both of your questions:

1) my friend's roomate in college uses it, and my friend told me that it made a HUGE difference and looked really really good! from that, i'm guessing it works! but here is a website of more reviews of people who own it... if you like what they said, you will probably like it too. just click on "read reviews" in the right column to read what people thought about each part of the kit.

2) the flaky combination skin thing... i think that can be fixed if you invest in a good facial moisturizer and a good face wash that exfoliates. i use l'oreal with little exfoliating beads in it, and that gets rid of all dead skin... no more flaking. wash your face every morning and night with it, and then moisturize right after you wash! don't EVER skip moisturizing... it will make the oily parts of your face less oily, and it will moisturize the dry parts! it is soo important.

if after a while you don't see an improvement, then go to the dermatologist and have him give you something stronger to get rid of the problem! :) good luck and let me know if you need more help!

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I work with this really great girl that I didn't initially have feelings for, but as I've come to know her, I can't stop thinking about her. I'm not good at picking up girl's signals, but it looks to me like she flirts with me a lot. Laughs at my jokes, smiles a lot, I'll catch her staring every now and again, but I've misread these signals before.
Plus she's got this boyfriend who's kind of clingy, emotional, neurotic and all this. They've been going out for awhile and live together, but they won't anymore starting this fall. He'll be in another city and she has said that they don't have near the chemistry they did earlier(I guess that can be said for everyone though) and that she hadn't broken up with him yet because of the way he might take it.
So I guess the question's pretty obvious. I don't want to be passive about this and let her get away, yet I feel like for some reason, now isn't the right time. What should I do? Thanks

heeyyy!!! alright this situation absolutely sucks, because i've been in it before! i'm not entirely positive about whether she likes you or not because you're not either, but i think she probably does. if she is giving you some signals and is telling you that she wants to break up with her bf and stuff, then she probably does have a crush on you. as far as what you should do right now... well let's face it, she still has a bf. and if they are living together, then it must be pretty serious. she says that she doesn't want to break up with him because of his feelings, but that probably only means that she also isn't sure if she WANTS to break up with him. she cares for him enough to the point where she doesn't want to do something to hurt him, so some of her feelings, if not all of them, are still there for him.

when i liked a guy that was in a relationship, he liked me too and he even told me. we always hung out and stuff, and eventually his gf got really mad and suspiscious about it. he didn't know what to do... whether to break up with her or not, and after a few months he told me that he decided to stay with her because he "thinks he loves her." basically, from that i learned that messing with someone in a relationship can only get you hurt in the end. this girl will end up with a guy either way... her current bf or you... but if she chooses her bf over you, then you end up with nothing and your hopes are all destroyed.

so as hard as it may be, the best thing for you to do is treat her like a friend and think of her as nothing more. so what if her bf is leaving soon and they might break up? it hasn't happened yet, so for all we know it might never happen. why get your hopes up about it and risk getting hurt? just forget about it now, see what other girls are out there, and if sometime down the road those 2 do break up, you can go ahead and see if you can persue a relationship with her! :) let me know if you need more help!

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Hi I just bought this Cross Crunch thing from Wal mart... You guys might've have seen it on TV too because its one of this thing "as seen on TV" item.

Has anybody used it before and does it really work? From what I read, they said doing 12 reps on each side(using 75) its just like doing 100 crunches on the floor..

I have just got it so I dont know if its working so anybody have feedback on it?

thanks a lot in advance

hey!! oh cool, i always wanted to get that! how much did you get it for??

anyway, i obviously haven't tried it (yet), but i always go on this website when i am researching things and i know it will help you too... epinions.com!

this is what people who have the cross crunch thought about it:

http://www.epinions.com/Cross_Crunch_Ab_Exerciser/display_~reviews

hope that helped!! :)

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Cyber-shot® DSC-T5 Digital Camera

^^^ REVIEWS OF THIS CAMERA PLEASE!^^^

Hows the battery life(how many pic. does it take)?
Does it have image stabilization?


IF YOU THINK THAT THIS IS A BAD CAMERA PLEASE SUGGEST ANOTHER!



hey!!

i dont personally have this camera, but these people do and here is what they think about it:

http://www.epinions.com/Sony_Cyber_Shot_DSC_T5_Digital_Camera/display_~reviews

to research what owners of other cameras think about them, just go to the website (www.epinions.com) and type the name of the camera in the search box. once you get a few results, click the approptiate one, and from there click on "read reviews" or "view details" depending on what information you want to get!! :) good luck! from what i saw though, it sounds like a good choice! let me know if you need more help!

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Okay so there's this boy:). blah blah blah. He's so cute & all. He sits behind me in 7th period and I have 1st & 8th with him as well. We flirt ALOT & alot of people think we should go out. We're always together except outside of school. I signed his yearbook & he got mad because I didn't write my number! He can't stand me to be mad at him & will give me this pity sort of thing. I'm 5'2 5'3ish so I'm not exactly Shaq. The thing is, he's a little shorter than me! It really bothers me with a guy being shorter. I like him and all but I'm afraid that if I went out with him it would be wierd. I don't know what to do please help! I'll rate for GOOD answers.

hahah! hey thats so funny! im like that too... the guy has to be older and taller than me! but no seriously, if he is just a tiny bit shorter than you i think you should get over it and give the kid a chance! i mean guys grow a lot slower than girls, so before you know it he will be taller than you. one of my guy friends grew like a foot in one summer! if you guys have a meaningful long term relationship, chances are he will grow taller than you! and even if he doesn't, you will eventually get over it because of all his other great qualities! don't let that get in the way of your happiness, after all it really isn't that big of a deal... and i'm sure he hates it too! guys feel insecure when they are shorter than a girl! but it's summer now anyway, so just wear flip flops and stay away from heels when you are around him! it will be fine don't worry about it, no one will even notice or care about the height difference and neither will you eventually! :)

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alrighty here is my story...

theres this guy i like at school-he likes me back and has asked me to go out to see a movie friday night(and my friend wants to talk to him about asking me to my our 8th grade dance)--i hear though, that he is dating a freshman+hes got "in a relationship" on his myspace...what do i do..i really really like this guy?!?!?!

-doctorkay-

hey! ok first of all, IM him or call him and confront him about his status on myspace! ask him why it says "in a relationship"... if he denies it or makes up a stupid excuse and doesn't change his profile, then he is lying and he really does have a girlfriend. that happened to me with a guy... he claimed to be single and always tried to get me to go out with him, and when i asked him about his "in a relationship" status on facebook (it's like myspace, but for college students only) he would say he is too lazy to change it and that he is single... and i eventually found out he was lying all along! he had a gf and the whole thing turned into a big mess. what a liar... a quality you do NOT want in a bf, right?

if that is the case, then deffinitely forget about this boy right away! why? well two reasons... first of all, if he has a girlfriend, there is a good chance that you will get hurt in the end because he will decide to stay with her. once again, this happened to me with another boy (yes my life can be so dramatic haha)... he had a gf, he really liked me and i did too, we kind of had a "thing" and he ended up choosing her because they had been together for so long and he "thought" he loved her. this boy will win no matter what.. if he picks you he has a girl, and if he picks his gf he has a girl. however, for you, there is a 50% chance that you will get hurt! second of all, do you really want to be with a boy who does that to his gf? once i thought about it this way i got over this guy right away! if he is dating and talking to other girls behind his girlfriend's back, then what makes you think he won't do it to you if you become his gf?

sorry this is so long, but i would forget about him if he does have a gf... and deffinitely forget about him if he has a gf and tried to lie and say that he is single! if he really is single, changes his myspace profile and sounds sencere in his answer, then give the boy a chance! :) let me know if you need more help! good luck!

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13/f
Lately I've been getting lots of white heads.
Like every morning a have another one, its stupid and annoying. I wash my face daily. What can I use to get rid of white heads and keep them away?

p.s; please don't say proactiv or clean & clear




I rate high. Thanks in advance.

hey! ok washing is probably not enough... well, it might be, depending on how you do it. don't use soap or anything like that, because that is harsh on your skin. use an exfoliating face wash with little grains in it to help clean deep in your pores and get rid of dead skin (i use l'oreal). wash with this day and night, and always always moisturize with a good facial (oil free) moisturizer! this will hydrate your skin, keep it from getting oily and thus prevent clogged pores and whiteheads, blackheads and pimples! if that doesn't work, then invest in a good facial mask to use once every week or 2, and try using the pore strips on problem areas of your face! that should deffinitely help! :)

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i was cutting before but i stoped. now i scratch myself with a needle. i know i need to stop but what should i do.

hey! well im glad you stopped cutting, that's a really good thing. now you are scratching yourself with a needle... hmm ok that's deffinitely not good at all, because you can infect your skin so badly and all kinds of bacteria can get in there and cause all kinds of problems. you could try the rubber band thing, where you put one around your wrists and just pull it and snap on it. you can also throw out all needles and sharp objects out and keep them away from your room. try not to seclude yourself in your room and try and be around people when you are in the house, or at least keep the door open so you can't do things like that! lastly, try talking to someone about your problems in order to release your pain in a healthy way, and not by hurting yourself. doing that only causes an extra problems on top of all your problems and doesn't solve anything in the long term, so you should deffinitely stop. if you can't do it on your own, talk to someone you trust like a parent or a councelor and get help asap! everything will be so much better! remember that no matter what happens, things can always be worse, and your problems are really not as bad as they seem. one day you will look back on these days and realize that! if you need any more help at all, send a question to my inbox! good luck :)

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ok so my exboyfriend whent on a trip this weekend and he got drunk and went skinny dipping w/ his friend and her sister and ended up having sex w/ both of them cuz he liked both the girls. he told me because he has some feelings left for me but i cant trust him i know i cant ive been trying to get him to stop drinking for ever and its reasons like this that make me try to get him to stop so he doesnt do anything stupid which he already did. he feels bad about it but he already did it! what can he change now? and i had a really strong feeling the night that it happened that he had done something he would regret. lately ive been missing him and considering taking him back but what do i do now? i odviously cant trust him. please help!!

hey! you guys broke up for a reason, and the reason is pretty evident in your question. you can't trust him, so the relationship can't work out. if there is no trust, then what is there? nothing! it's normal to miss him and want him back, but deep down you really don't want that so don't let it fool you. trust me, been there done that. if you get back with him now, you will break up again soon for the same reasons that made you break up in the first place, and it will be even harder to get over him then. just STOP TALKING TO HIM completely, 100%! it will be hard at first, but it will make your life soo much easier! it seems impossible but it is not. once you get him out of your life, you will slowly stop thinking about him and you will get over him. this usually takes 2 months! after that, you guys can become friends if you want or maybe persue a relationship in the future when he is more mature and ready to settle down. but for now, the best thing is to forget him or he will cause you a lot of pain! hope this helped! :)

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my girlfriend is graduating on saturday. i have NO idea wha to get her.I am going to get her a fitted for a birthday which is next wednesday. can someone pleasehelp me out on what to get her for her graduation. should i get her, her favorite drink, or just get her a basket of liquor??? idk please help

hey! since her birthday is so soon and you already have a present lined up, i think the best thing to do is just get her a nice bouquet of flowers and invite her out to a nice romantic dinner! after that you can take her back to your house and toast with some champagne or something cute like that! if you can't do it on the night of her graduation, then just include a card with the flowers and explain that you want to take her out as a graduation gift. i think spending some quality time with her would make her much happier than anything you can buy her at the store! :)

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Can someone please tell me what the hell is wrong with me?
Everytime i like a descent guy and then they like me back, i pull away and dont like them anymore.
Whats my problem!?!

hey! nothing is wrong with you! maybe you are scared of beeing in a relationship... or maybe you are just too picky. if you think you are too picky, then just pick 3 things that you absolutely need to have in a boyfriend (ex. funny, talkative, caring) and look for them in your next crush. if he has those qualities, then give the guy a chance even if he has a weird laugh or doesn't drive the nicest car... basically, stick to the 3 qualities you really want, and don't pay attention to the rest.

if you think you are just scared of commitment, then there is no need to rush right now... you have your whole life to be in serious relationships. if you think it would be better to just casually date and flirt right now, then go ahead and do that! there is nothing wrong with knowing what you want and doing just that... even if it's not what everyone else is doing! as long as you are happy, it is all that matters, and trust me eventually you will be ready to commit! :) let me know if you need more help!

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Does anyone know what the beginning stages of falling in love are like? Because I think I'm falling for a guy at work. These are my symptoms: constantly thinking about him with a smile on my face; friends asking me why I'm smiling (I'm not even aware of it it's because I'm thinking about him); getting butterflies when I see him; blushing when he looks at me. I also think he feels the same way about me. He works at the same store as me. About a month ago I went for drinks with him and some other co-workers. He was staring at me and smiling at me when I was dancing; and at work lately he's been staring at me and when I walked into the staffroom the other day as soon as I walked in he was staring at me and held my gaze. When he walks down my department he will look down the aisle to see if I'm working.
Do you think I'm in love with him? And more importantly do you think he's falling in love with me? When we look at each other I feel like I can't breathe.

hey! well this sounds like a major crush and you two deffinitely like each other a lot. but as far as symptoms of love... that's not really something you will know until you actually fall in love. and when that happens, you won't even ask because you will know it is love. it's unlike any other feeling in the world, and it will happen once you get to know someone really well, inside and out... when you get to know everything about them, and love them for who they are... good AND bad things about them. when you love someone, you would give up everything in the world to make them happy, and you put your own happiness on the line if it means making your loved one happy. seeing the other person happy is ALL you need to be happy, and seeing them sad makes you sad. it's so hard to explain what it is like... in my morality class last semester we read something in which love was summed up as the "desire to possess someone completely and be completely possessed by them." it is a very strong feeling that nothing in the world can get in teh way of. butterflies eventually wear off, and the blushing eventually stops, but love never goes away! :) hope that helped! let me know if you need a better answer haha

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