can't figure out if i'm acting stupid
my (18 f) boyfriend (19m) lives on campus, in the same residencd building as me. we are both engineering students and have been together almost 5months now. he got sick 2 days ago, and his sickness has been getting worse and worse. i spend a lot of time with him, living literally next door to him and having many of the same classes,so when he started feeling sick i knew and immediately rushed to take care of him.
a bit of backstory before i continue, i am a brown eldest daughter of 3 siblings and one of the few nondependants in my household. i worked 2 jobs all through high school to help my folks take care of my younger siblings, one of which suffers from numerous physical and learning disabilities, and to take care of my grandparents, one of which (my grandmother) is blind in one eye and has mobility issues.
i grew up nurturing people. whether i like it or not, i rushed to the nanny role almost out of instinct. bringing him food, making him chai, giving him his medications, checking on him, booking doctors appointments and even holding a tissue to his nose to help him blow it.
all of this while it is exam season, my first exam is in less than a week.
to ruin this even further, in the middle of everything i got my period. i have TERRIBLE cramps, bad enough to make me vomit. somehow i managed to soldier through. but what was the tipping point?
when i opened my boyfriend's phone to book an appointment, i saw pornography on it. about 20 or so images saved to his files. i knew he watched porn before dating me but he told me he had stopped when we started dating and i really believed him. i just feel so ruined and hurt, and like I've fooled myself with how much I've put into him expecting to be loved and nurtured back. even normally he can't plan a date or do anything sweet for me, and when i ask him to be more mature whenever we have a fight and he's hurt me, he says he will try next time but never changes anything.
i just want one chance in my life to not feel like a caregiver. i am lying here stressed and tired and in intense pain and i just want to feel taken care of instead of having to care for people. this boy is so sweet and endearing but he can't put actions to his words. the closest I've ever gotten to ending it though, he broke down in my arms, apologizing and begging me to let him make it better. I don't want to be his first heartbreak but as i'm lying here aching while he sleeps peacefully i don't know if i can continue on with him, or what to do next.
Posted Dec 8, 2025, 10:47 AM UTC