I'm about to tell you about one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made in my life. I'd advise any noob to listen asap. In 2017, I got the first girlfriend I've ever had in my life. During the first couple of months, she was awesome. My eyes were addicted to her.. the oneitis + honeymoon period. She doesn't live in the US, so we'd do video chats during our break off from school (she lives in Russia). One day we had a talk and she said something like "if I had to choose between staying friends with my Ex boyfriend or staying in a relationship with you, I'd choose my ex" ... and that made me angry. I seeked advice on reddit (just search "GeneralGo123 Girlfriend is friend's with her Ex Boyfriend...") to see the responses. But guess what? I continued to stay with her despite that. At times I'd get the vibe / small pieces of evidence that she's a shady character, but she'd gaslight the shit out of me. I'm fucking amazed at how effective her gaslighting was on me. No matter how convincing my evidence was.. she was able to keep me. It was all until the end when I eventually was through with it and left her be. I swear she may have caused me to doubt my own abilities!!! Which is crazy because I'm massively successful for my age and previously had bulletproof, unstoppable, God send confidence in myself. There's so much more to the story but you guys get the main vibe. If there's any advice I can give to new people, it's to simply ALWAYS believe in yourself no matter what. Never doubt yourself. And also... be careful with women and assume they have ulterior motives.