There’s so much going on in this place about how women don’t pick men who are nice, but just care about looks or status.

I’m here to say that men who put in their heart to win over a girl, do win.

To support that I’ll tell about my first love. I’m turning eighteen next month. But last summer, I had just turned seventeen and experienced a roller coaster of emotions when I least expected it.

That summer me and my family were in Thailand and the last week of the holiday we spent in Koh Chang. At the hotel we stayed at, worked a guy named Heng, he was from Cambodia but worked on the island.

He could barely talk English but he would wait for me when he was serving the tables outside and try to talk to me every day. When I ordered something he’d give a flower with it and say “just for you”

Then one time he’d asked to do a “fire show” for me, which would normally be organized for a group of hotel guests but he wanted to do one just for me. It was the sweetest thing ever. I could really tell that I made him nervous, he couldn’t stop smiling or look me in the eyes. I liked that he liked me so much and it made me like him. He asked for my Instagram because he wanted to send me more videos of him doing the hotels “fire show” which he did.

When he would see my parents/sister around the hotel he’d ask for me. He showed me the fish in the sea and thought that the sea in The Netherlands froze in winter. He asked me to come with him on his motorbike because he wanted to show me the local waterfall but my parents didn’t allow that.

After six days I had to leave to go back to The Netherlands, he gave me the hotel ticked with “my name Heng” on the back of the card. He asked for a hug before I had to go and right after I left, he messed me that he loves me and he’d wait for me to come back.

Now, he still messages me sometimes saying he’s waiting for me, or asking how are you or he sends a video of how pretty the hotel beach is.

The day I left I cried on my way back, because I had felt so happy, but now I had to leave. I felt so loved and felt worthy of love. He had made me forget everything I’d normally worry about. Even though I only knew him for six days, I think I know what love feels like. I still think about how happy I were those days in Koh Chang. And I still think about him.

I guess what I want to say is, make a girl feel loved, it’s not that hard to win a girl over, show her how much you like her.