I want you to know, if you fear reaching out, don't. If you think about settling for someone else, don't.

There's this girl. We work together. She is bright, fascinating, kind, sassy, and above all, beautiful. I mean yeah she's looks great, but her soul is just captivating. I swear, I've known her before. As a dude, I never thought I'd feel this way. I never thought feelings like this existed. I was terrified of reaching out. I convinced myself she was never going to like someone like me. I know, I put her on a pedestal. I just couldn't help it. I thought I would be humiliated and heart broken if I told her the truth. I feared she'd laugh in my face. I was scared that it would make work awkward and unbearable. I feared she would never acknowledge me again and I told myself I could just sit and be her friend.

I couldn't. It was now or never. We were both moving on in our careers and moving on to different jobs. I realized the fear of losing her was far greater. So, I told her. And guess what. She loves me too :)