By Brandon Hayes

April 27, 2025

If you’re reading this, thank you for taking the time. This has been on my mind for a while now, and I need to get it off my chest. So here goes.

I used to date this girl. I’ll call her K. She was my first real relationship, and I’m not going to lie, I was a little obsessed with her. I thought everything about our relationship was perfect at first. I was so into her, like, crazy into her. But then, as time went on, things started to shift. There was this thing that started to bug me, and I honestly didn’t know how to deal with it.

About two months into our relationship, K developed this intense obsession with Attack on Titan. And don’t get me wrong, I get it. It’s a good anime. But she started talking about how hot the characters were. She’d mention them all the time, especially the male characters. It wasn’t that I was jealous or insecure—it was just… I didn’t like it. I wasn’t into hearing about how hot these animated characters were when we were supposed to be building something real between us.

So, I did what anyone would do when they’re confused in a relationship: I asked for advice. I didn’t know who to turn to, but I had this friend, A, who was close to K at the time. We weren’t super close, but I thought, maybe A could give me some insight. A told me to talk to K directly and ask her to stop. So I did. I sat down with K, explained how I felt, and asked her to stop talking about the characters like that. She was really understanding at first. She promised she’d stop.

But, of course, she didn’t. She kept talking about it, and it just kept bothering me. The thing was, the more this happened, the worse our relationship got. I felt like I was always trying to make her see my side, but nothing changed. So, naturally, I started going back to A for advice. Every time I felt frustrated or upset, I’d talk to A. A was always there, listening, offering suggestions. But after a while, I started to notice that the advice wasn’t just advice anymore. It was starting to feel like A was kind of over hearing about K. And honestly, I get it now. A was probably tired of hearing about my relationship problems.

Then one day, two months into all of this, A had had enough. A told me straight up, “You need to break up with her. She’s treating you badly, and you’re not happy.” I didn’t want to admit it at first, but deep down, I knew A was right. My relationship with K had turned toxic, and it wasn’t getting any better. I’d been leaning on A for so long that I hadn’t even noticed how unhealthy things had become.

Looking back, I don’t think K was a bad person—she was just caught up in her own interests and didn’t understand how it affected me. But I also wasn’t communicating properly. I let things fester for too long, and by the time I realized it, it was already too late. The damage was done.

Breaking up with K was hard, and I hated the way things ended. But it was necessary. I had to take control of my own happiness, even if it meant letting go of someone I thought I couldn’t live without.

The thing is, I never expected A to be the one to push me to make the decision. A was just a friend offering advice, but when I really think about it, I can’t help but wonder if A felt something more. I don’t know. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. But the way A was there for me, always listening and telling me what I needed to hear, it made me feel like I could lean on them.

I guess I’ll never know what would’ve happened if I’d stayed with K, but I do know that I’ve learned a lot from all of this. I learned that I should trust my instincts more and communicate my feelings earlier. And I learned that sometimes, the person who gives you the best advice is the one you least expect.

Anyway, that’s my story. Thanks for reading.