Me: *texts Ale telling him how I feel about how I think our relationship is going* (nothing bad, just how 2-3x a week, I'll text him "i♥️u" and I'll hear nothing back and I feel the little things I do go unnoticed*

Ale: "They don't go unnoticed, it's just that I am bad at doing the little things back."
Ale: "It has just been difficult to keep everything in balance lately, which is more my fault."*
Ale: "You have done nothing but be supportive I have just been bad at everything lately"**

Me: "Ale, you haven't been bad at everything. You've been pretty good while you've been pretty busy. There's a difference. Junior academics everywhere has always been like "50% freedom. Here's some help from the teacher. Sprinkle of college experience. You're still high school students though." Whereas Senior academics is "95% freedom. You're on your own. Your classmates can help you. This is what college is like. You're all legal adults, but you're all high school students, so here's mountains of work. Don't complain, this is what college is like."
Me: "The fact that you have gone through the whole year of Junior academics and these past 2.5 months of Senior academics all while still maintaining a relationship and all of your friendships, and you have been able to keep your head on straight; Ale******, you deserve a standing ovation. You are a hard working man."

*My Brain: It's not...all your fault. You're just really really busy.

**My Brain: Thank- "pretty bad at everything"? "Pretty bad at everything"?! Excuse me sir!! You can bake! You can cook!! You can play video games! You can repair a TV! You know how to wield a katana and a butterfly knife responsibility!! You're not only a video game medic, but are also working to become a real life medic for children!! You are great at DnD!! You are great at Magic: the Gathering!! You can easily make friends!! You can call truces!! You have juggled 2.5 months of Senior HELL with Friends, Family, and Love!! And your head is still intact!! I know people who tried doing this in 9th grade with Freshman Hell with Friends, Family, and Love, and they lost their shit!! I don't want to hear that you are pretty bad at everything again because you are amazing at everything you can do. Ale, every Senior I've known who has done what you've done, juggled what you've juggled, has just baRELY gotten by the skin of their teeth or has gotten by because they were only juggling Senior Hell. The fact that you're juggling all four of these and your grades aren't slipping, your friendships aren't falling through the cracks, your family isn't yelling at you since your grades are all A's, and our relationship hasn't fallen through the cracks, like, honey, you deserve a standing ovation!