Hi guys, I haven’t really been active in the community, but Tom’s recent post about relationships caught my attention. I noticed most votes were about the dating scene and only a few about heartbreak. I’ve been struggling with moving on for the past half year, so I want to share my experience. I’ll start with some background so the story makes sense - you can skip to the lessons if you want. 1. Self-improvement I first got into self-improvement at 17 through a YouTuber called Matt Spear. In the beginning everything felt great - I was improving every day, working out consistently, delaying gratification, and spending more time on things I genuinely enjoyed like making videos instead of chasing quick pleasure. 2. Overcoming loneliness Soon after, I found Hamza and learned about the red pill. It hit me hard, especially because I was still trying to move on from a girl who had rejected me. His practices made me more disciplined, but I also became very isolated. I started seeing people as “against me” and became antisocial. What helped was a classmate who sat next to me. Looking back, I’m really grateful to him because talking to him pulled me out of that lonely state. Over the next few months, I reconnected with more classmates and eventually got over the girl. I’ve always been an introvert, so I wasn’t putting myself out much. But over the next year I grew more mature, joined more social activities, and tried new things. I wasn’t pursuing girls and mostly stuck with groups of guys, but I was at least open to talking to people again. 3. Getting close to someone Another year passed, with ups and downs, until prom season came around. I didn’t have a prom date, but a good female friend of mine asked me to be her “gentleman” at her prom. The person who was originally supposed to go with her was her cousin, but he couldn’t, so I agreed. We were classmates back in 4th and 5th grade before she moved away, and I’d always had some suspicion she might like me. I traveled over 250 km and booked a hostel to be there. The prom went great, and afterwards we chatted almost daily. She seemed genuinely happy, which stood out because she used to be more of an “emo” type.