Anyone been 'Sibling Zoned' by a crush? Any ideas to prevent getting zoned?
Hi Cedar!
Welcome to CC, and I really like the term "Sibling-Zoned"... lol. I'm going to have to remember that. I've been on both sides of this phenomenon several times, so I feel your pain.
For some reason, it used to be that when I would first meet and talk to a guy, my heart would automatically think, "Hmm... potential boyfriend," or, "He seems like a good friend." I don't know why I thought that, but it did make it easier at the time because 99.999 (and 9/10) of the time, the "potential boyfriend" wasn't interested so it made it easier for me to let him go without any attachment.
Sure, it felt like walking over broken glass then, but over time, I became grateful that my heart could just start over with a clean slate.
I think that in either case, whether you're the recipient or the one who sees someone else as just a friend, its nearly impossible to change one's feelings once their mind is set on either path. I had some times in the past where I tried to "convince" someone else or someone else tried to "convince" me, and I know that when someone was trying to change my mind, I felt annoyed (and in one case, somewhat stalked) because if they weren't listening to me about my own decisions, I knew they wouldn't listen to me about anything else, either.
However, I am noticing that I'm changing over time. I'm finding myself most attracted to loyalty, a strong spiritual/moral foundation that's proven the test of time, and life experience (someone I can talk to about how to fix, repair, or approach important life circumstances, events, and decisions.) As I get older, I find myself more attracted to "the nice guy that gets left behind" because he has a solid record of being a responsible, admirable person, even if or when it seemed liked there was no payoff at the time for doing so, because someone who's lived that way usually has a lot less drama and baggage. (I used to be the exact opposite -- always being attracted to a guy with problem that I thought I could "help", while seeing good guys with clean lives as just friends.)
Unlike my past years, I wouldn't be surprised if I someday realized I was strongly attracted to a kind, thoughtful guy friend... whom I had always seen as just a friend in the past.
I'm not saying it's an absolute -- depending on what God wants -- but it's a lot different than how I used to think (and a very slow way of finding someone, lol, so I would imagine I'll be single a while longer.)
Great thread topic Cedar, and here's to hoping we'll see you more around the forums!