Thanks Anita,

I’ve thought about it way too much and I think that’s causing me to strain our friendship. I tend to ruminate over the things that cause me pain instead of practicing gratitude for the good that I’ve accomplished in my life.

I agree that the third option is the most honest one but there’s still a big risk in telling her how I feel. Sharing something very intimate and personal with someone who probably didn’t realize what I felt before can also make things awkward for the both of us in the same way that asking her out would. It could be a big burden to her if she’s aware that anything she does could reignite the flame inside me. I think it would still strain our friendship because of the imbalance of feelings. Honesty is important but sometimes, it coukd make things harder for the both of us.

Maybe there is no remedy and the solution is to distance myself from her a bit, invest more into my other friendships and potential romantic relationships and hope that over time, I can finally come to a peace with the feelings I have for my friend.