When a boy says that he loves you, do not just assume that it’s true. Do not believe him right away. If he says “I love you” and “sex” in the same sentence, turn away from him and leave. Keep your head high and your fists balled. One for when he says he’s sorry and the other for when he says you were never worth it anyway. But for whichever is chosen, I don’t care. And don’t you shed one tear over the boy who said he loved you, many more will say it too. Some, you might even believe. But the day will come when the man you deserve will step into your heart, and not on it. He will undress your soul with his affection and not your blouse with his fingers. He will leave you notes with flowers, not semen. When you gather the courage to show him the deep lines on your arms, he will kiss them gently, and show you his own scars. When you go out to eat and stop to pray, he will not laugh or cough with embarrassment. Instead, he will look with absolute wonder at the devotion of your faith, enough to make him question his own disbelief. Time is no measure of love, or of affection, or admiration. It should not make you hesitate with your feelings, or make you feel wrong for having such an emotion. This man will make you feel more in days than you did with anyone else in months, maybe even years. Feelings will overwhelm you, make you question everything you were ever taught or warned about. He will make you fall, and for the first time, you won’t be afraid to jump, because there is no doubt in your heart, no matter what anyone ever did to you in the past, that he will catch you with open arms.