 I don't know why I was so afraid of it. Like, what's the worst that can happen, huh? They say no. That's it? What? You think God's gonna come down from the clouds? Boom! Hey, everyone! Everyone! Look in that direction! That loser over there just got rejected! You know, I think a lot of people that are afraid of rejection aren't looking at the human side of it. Everyone likes somebody. Everyone likes something. You think you're gonna get in trouble? Huh? You're gonna get in trouble? No, it's not abnormal for you to tell someone you think that they're attractive. It's not. But it is abnormal for someone to get upset at you for thinking they're attractive. You think in the opposite way. I used to be afraid of rejection only until a long time ago, you know? It was at this one cafe, me and my friend usually go to, right? And there was this one girl. Beautiful girl. I'm talking about Cinderella-tier woman. And the funny thing is I'm not really even into white women like that. Like, I used to be back in high school when I was in the twilight and all that shit, but I dated three of them, found out I had like zero attraction to them. Okay, time out, time out. Post-edit kneecaps here. I feel like this could be taken poorly. It's not that the nigga kneecaps doesn't find white women attractive. It's just that back in high school, a nigga was fiended for some white Gucci. And I've grown out of it, you know? Nowadays, I don't really have like a racial preference. I guess you'd call it. So it's not like I'm saying white woman bad. It's just that I'm not running towards them like that bird nigga from off the Looney Tunes, right? I presume. I didn't even feel the urge to kiss them or anything, right? I legit thought I was gay for a little bit. Not gonna lie. And also, ever since my two favorite albums hit me with the de-cunification, right? The white girl fetish I had just got thrown even further down the toilet bowl. But back to the girl, right? It wasn't just that her face was beautiful. She also had these real thick, aggressive eyebrows. And I don't know what it is about aggressive eyebrows on women, but that shit gets a nigga's engine red up. You understand? I think maybe it might be because all the strong woman in my life, like my mom, my sister, they also have like these real wide, angry-looking eyebrows. And maybe I subconsciously equate strong eyebrows with strong maternity. So what happened is that, and I'm sure a lot of other people can relate to this, but I don't know if she was just being nice to me, but she complimented my necklace. She's like, I like your necklace. It's dope, right? That's the way she says it, right? And as you ladies know, us guys, that's pretty much all the skills you need to make us fall in love with you, right? Give us compliments and make us feel loved. That's it, right? So I'm thinking, huh, maybe she likes me. I have no idea. I'm not super experienced in relationships and dating people, but my friend, he's like, hey, bro, I think you should ask that girl out. And I'm like, huh? Her? Heck no, nigga. She is way too pretty. You see, this was before a nigga hit that late puberty, early 20s glow-up. Follow me on Instagram. And I was an emotionally sensitive nigga. Ain't no way I'm gonna be able to recover from getting rejected from a woman of that caliber. Okay? Day ends, right? Some days go by, me and my nigga, right? We head back to the cafe spot. The girl's there again and we order and as we're ordering, she's like your phone case looks really cool. And on the outside, I'm like, oh, thanks. On the inside, I'm like, bro, what the fuck is happening? I wish I had better social skills to engage in a proper conversation with this woman. But we go and we sit down on the couches in the cafe and my friend's like, bro, I think you should ask her out. You should ask her out. But I'm not having it, right? I had so much self-hatred for myself back then. And, you know, having that goddess of a woman know that an insecure-ass creature like me was in her was probably punishable by firing squad. So I leave the cafe defeated, defeated. And we head to the mall the same day. My boy, right? Star sign Leo. So you know this nigga's on the prowl. He finds this one pretty girl at this, you know, this one shop that sells animation, right? A woman behind a counter. She kind of tall. Obviously not taller than my seven-foot-nine ass, but, you know, still a pretty tall woman, right? And he's like, hey, bro, I'm about to go ask her out. And I'm like, I don't know about that, bro. I think I know that girl. I think I've seen her with a boyfriend once or something like that, right? But I don't know for sure, right? I don't know for sure. But even then, the chances of homeboy getting rejected have only increased. They've only increased, but he still, he still doesn't seem swayed in the slightest, right? He's like, nah, bro, I'm about to go ask her out, right? And I ask him, did you want me to leave or something? Looking back, that was probably the dumbest question I've ever asked in my entire life. Do you want me to leave? Well, like the nigga was about to have sex on the spot or something. It's just that I'm a very emotionally sensitive person. And seeing my friends in a bad mood also makes me feel really bad, right? But he's like, no, you don't have to leave. And I'm like, oh, okay. And I'm glad, you know, I'm glad I didn't leave or else I wouldn't have grown from this experience. But what happened is that he tells the girl, hey, I think you're really attractive. Do you have an Instagram or something I can get, right? And the girl's like, I have an Instagram, but I do have a boyfriend. And I'm like, damn, that's gotta hurt. But I look at my nigga's face, right? And he doesn't seem phased in the slightest. He actually looks a bit entertained. And he's like, oh, I see. Well, thank you. And, you know, we start strolling through the mall, like nothing ever happened. And I'm like, that's it? Really? That didn't seem so bad. You know, the girl was real nice about it. My friend was real nice about it. If anything, I think the rejection only made the day better. Because think about it, right? It's already a no if you don't ask and you're going to go home with that uncertainty in your spirit. All right? All right? Maybe that girl also thought I was attractive, but now I'll never know. But after getting rejected, it's like, I know for certain that girl wasn't interested. And there's nothing wrong with that. Don't take it as a personal attack, you know? Even the prettiest of niggas get rejected. But continuing the story, I see my boy get rejected. And I'm like, yeah, that doesn't seem so bad. And it inspires me, right? It inspires me. He's always inspired me as a person with the amount of confidence he's had. Dude always seems so fearless. You know, fearless like a lion almost. You know, maybe that zodiac shit really does have some use to it. And I tell him, yeah, let's head back to the cafe dog. I want to try again. And he's got that look in his eye like my fucking nigga, right? So we drive back to the cafe and the girl's still there at the counter. But I need time to get all the bitch out my bones, right? So I'm sitting there on the cafe couch shaking in anxiousness because my body's telling me, stop, go, stop. Go, stop, stop. Stop, go. So I'm just petrified, not really knowing what to do. And then there's this one woman that comes in. She's taking pictures and stuff like that, right? I thought the woman behind the counter was beautiful and she still was, right? But this woman had everything. Again, not in a white woman, but this white girl was real pretty, real fucking pretty. Wasn't even just her face, her body, the aura she had around her. And she also had this like real pretty natural red hair. And you know, I'm not usually the type of guy to try to degrade women based on their sexual features, but dog. This woman's cake was astounding, astounding my nigga. I didn't even think white woman could grow an ass like this. Ain't no way, bro. She had to have like some sort of Hispanic or Egyptian bloodline mixed in with her. Maybe her great, great grandmother was African or something because my God, what a beautiful body she had. And I'm over here marveling. Just marveling. Meanwhile, my nigga, Leo ass nigga, he on the prowl. He on the prowl. He tells me I'm about to ask that girl out and I look at him and bewilderment. Are you sure? Are you sure? The amount of grief. The amount of grief I'd be and if I got a note from that woman would be catastrophic. But again, this nigga's confidence. He just don't care. And I'm thinking, wait a minute. This nigga just got rejected not even an hour ago and he's already back on his feet. That's how you're supposed to do it. Take an L and just bounce back like that. Where's the seething at? Where's the internalized self-hatred at? This nigga just didn't care. He just doesn't care. But I'm sitting on the couch while he's talking to this redheaded goddess, right? This goddess, right? Let's get that straight. And I'm sitting there just sad because I'm like, damn, my nigga about to take two Ls today. Let me go play some flappy bird on my phone. Some unofficial flappy bird rom. I had to download off the internet, right? And after like a minute or something, he comes back and this nigga got this, he got this look in his eyes. He ain't even saying nothing. And I'm like, no way. He's like, yeah, yeah, yes. I plucked it. Bro, the size of that W, the size of that W was so large. I don't even understand how we had the strength to walk back to the place we were sitting. The amount of back pain I'd be in from hauling that W around with me would have been excruciating. And I see this. I see this friend of mine that's always been there for me, always inspiring me. I see him do what I've never had the strength to do and it lights this fire in me. I stand up on my fucking feet and I'm thinking, this ain't even just for me, no more. This is also for my boy, you know what I'm saying, right? And I'm walking towards the counter and behind two women and as one woman goes away, I can feel the heat, the heat and pressure increase inside me. And now there's only one other woman in front of me. My heart's racing. I feel like I'm breathing through like a tiny-ass coffee straw or like tea straw, whatever the hell it is, right? Bam, another woman goes away. Now it's just me looking at the girl and she's like, what would you like? Or I don't know what the fuck she said. I was too fucking nervous. I don't really remember the exact quote, but she's like, what would you like? And I tell her, oh, I'm not getting any coffee. I need him over here. I'm talking about this one guy, tall-ass white dude that always says, what's up to me anytime I come into the cafe. And not in like a four-sway or nothing like that. You can just tell that he's like a, he's like a real social genuine dude, right? So she switches stations with him and he's like, what can I help you with, man? And I'm like, I'm sorry, bro. I also need her. It's just that I need you here for emotional support because I could tell, you know, I could tell you a real chill dude. And he's like, oh, okay. With a smile, you know, and I think he already knew what I was trying to do, right? So he calls her over here, right? And she's like, yeah. And this is where I feel like I was on a fucking stage, right? The most beautiful moment of my life. I open my mouth and I say this word for word. This is probably going to hurt a lot, but you're extremely attractive. And she smiles real nicely. And she's like, thanks. But I hear something in that. Thanks, right? It sounds a lot more friendly than it does provocative. And I noticed this and I say, but I'm guessing you already have a boyfriend. And she's like, yeah, I'm actually married. And I'm like, oh, oh, I see. I see. Well, thank you. Thank you, miss. And I meant it. I truly meant it. You know, I always thought rejection was so bad. I always thought there'd be like some really bad reaction afterwards. But no, all I felt was peace, true peace. And as I walked back from the counter towards my friend, there wasn't anyone clapping for me or anything like that. But I could feel inside me, my soul dancing, applauding itself, feeling itself being freed. And as I headed back to where my friend was sitting, right? I see him and he has like, I'm guessing he already has like an idea of what happened. And he has this big ass smile on his face, right? Not to mock me or anything, but an extremely proud smile on his face. Humboy didn't even have to open his mouth to say it. But I knew exactly the words he was thinking on his mind. Good shit, my nigga. Good fucking shit. How am I looking today, boys? Huh? How am I looking today? You ain't even got to tell me. How do you know I'm looking snazzy? I'm looking real snazzy.