For context, last spring was my first semester at UNT. I met this guy in one of my classes, and things were completely fine in the beginning. We would talk in class, hang out, and go on walks occasionally. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first.
But after a while, he started doing things that made me increasingly uncomfortable. He would take my personal belongings, like my AirPods, hairbrush, and lip tints, just to mess with me or get my attention. When I confronted him about it, he brushed it off, saying it was all in good fun.
It didn’t stop there. He started crossing some serious boundaries. He would intentionally prevent me from going to class or work on time, snatch my belongings, and threaten not to return them unless I did what he wanted. He would force conversations on me, grab my wrists, and physically prevent me from leaving because he wanted to get his point across since I started ignoring him for the things he did.
Things got so bad that he actually showed up at my on-campus job and started grabbing my belongings AGAIN just to force me to talk to him. I started feeling genuinely unsafe walking around campus because I was constantly worried about having to deal with him again.
Eventually, things escalated to the point where I had to call the police.
One time, he suggested that we walk around campus, and, against my better judgment, I agreed. Instead, he took me to a bar at the Square. I felt so unsafe that I had to arrange a ride to get away. He then started yelling and causing a scene on the street, and I ended up having to call 911.
After that incident, I completely cut off contact with him.
But even now, I don’t feel like I can fully move on from what happened.
I’m constantly scared that I’ll run into him somewhere on campus. Whenever I hear someone walking behind me, I freeze up. I feel anxious walking around alone because I’m always on edge, wondering whether I’ll have to face him again.
What makes things worse is that I feel like he’s still trying to contact me. He calls me using his friends’ phone numbers, and every time, I hang up and block the number. Today was particularly unsettling because I genuinely felt like he might have been standing near the entrance to my classroom. I don’t know for sure if it was him, but the possibility alone was enough to scare me.
I’m exhausted from feeling this way. I came to UNT to study, build a future for myself, and enjoy my college experience. I don’t want to spend my days feeling scared of someone who should no longer have any place in my life.
Should I seek therapy to help me deal with the anxiety and fear this has caused me? Should I go to the UNT Police Department and report the continued unwanted contact and everything that happened, even though I already called 911 that night? Do you think they would take this seriously, or would they dismiss it because I don’t have enough evidence?
I just want to feel safe walking around my own campus again. I don’t want to keep looking over my shoulder, freezing whenever I hear footsteps behind me, or living with the fear that I might run into him.
I know I made mistakes by giving him so many chances, but I also know that I never deserved to be treated this way.
