This past week, I wanted to call my friend, so I texted him, “Hey, are you free to call this Sunday?”

No response.

I thought, “Okay, let’s give him some time. Maybe he’s busy.” I waited a day—and still nothing.

“Should I text him again?” I thought. “No, I don’t want to bother him. Ughh, but it’s almost Sunday.”

Two more days go by and Sunday finally arrives. STILL NO RESPONSE.

“Does he even like me? I thought we were friends. I thought he liked my company.”

I felt completely defeated. I crashed onto my bed and stared at my phone, knowing he wouldn’t respond. In a final act of desperation, I gave it one last chance. I texted him, “Still wanna call?”

This man responded. It took three whole days and a lot of insecurity, but we finally called.

And this is why I hate texting.

As someone with low-self worth, I get anxious anytime someone responds late to my texts. It’s not their fault, but I can’t help but think everyone who doesn’t respond to me in under three minutes must hate me. If they take longer than that, I start worrying, “Do they like me? Why are they taking so long? Was it something I said?” 

Most of the time, they’re just busy and respond later, but I can’t help but worry. I literally have to distract myself with homework, chores, and school.

To avoid unanswered texts, I prefer calling. It’s way simpler. When you’re calling someone, you’re not worrying about if they heard what you just said, because their phone is right up to their ear. And, it’s more expected that you give each other your full attention, whereas you can respond hours later to a text.

Calling also helps me stay in the moment. When I text, I have the habit of rewriting my texts. I write it out, read it, then go, “Oooo, that sounds bad.” Then I delete it, rewrite it, and read it again. Then I repeat that for ten or thirteen times.

But when I’m calling someone, it’s like an audition: you don’t get a second chance to fix your mistakes or imperfections; it’s all one shot.

Now, if you can’t tell, my reasons for calling are personal. I prefer calling because I get anxious when texting, and I rewrite all my texts. But what I struggle with is not necessarily what others struggle with. You may feel more comfortable texting because: you can think through your texts, play games like 8 Ball, and avoid awkward phone calls. But in my experience, calling saves me a lot of worry. So go ahead and text your friends. Play those archery games. Dominate in 8 Ball. But I swear if I see any unread messages on your phone, I’m gonna bite your toes off.