This is a long story. Let me start off by saying that telling people no is a challenge for me. I have been a people-pleaser most of my life. I have given away so much money and I've gotten myself into situations I never wanted to be in all because I have a hard time saying no. Three months ago, this homeless man came up to me and said he needed
$5 to wash his clothes. I told him that I didn't have any cash on me so he insisted that I go to an ATM. I unfortunately listened to him and ended up giving him $20. A month later, out of the blue, this same man shows up to the store
that I work at while I was working. He had asked somebody that I know where I work because he needed more
money. He came into my store saying that he needed $35 so I ended up going to the ATM and gave him $40. After that, we exchanged phone numbers because he had just started a new job and was intending to pay me back. During
the next week, he kept having me go to the ATM. He would request anywhere from $40 to $80 multiple times during the week. He thought it was okay to just keep taking money from me because he had just gotten a job and told me
that he was going to pay me back. On top of lending him money, this guy thought that we were best friends. He kept referring to me as his brother and his angel. This man never knew his father and he had to quit his job making $25 an hour to take care of his dying mother. After his mother died, he became homeless. His mother was poor and did not
leave him with anything. He has no siblings, aunts, uncles, or cousins. His mom was his only family. He only has a few friends. This guy was not only looking to me for money, he was looking to me as family which I wanted no part of. He would call me in the middle of the night while I was sleeping and had me come and pick him up to hangout. When I told him that I was
going somewhere, he just invited himself when I never invited him to go in the first place. I ended up giving him a total of around $1000 in one week. I tried setting limits and boundaries with this man but he crossed every limit and boundary that I tried to set. By this point I had had enough. I reached out to a social worker and explained the
situation. She told me that him coming into my store and asking for money is considered harassment. I was not aware of this. After I learned that, I was angry. This guy basically stalked me, harassed me, manipulated me, and took advantage of me. After dealing with this man for a week and a half, I decided to end it with him. I didn't care
whether he paid me back or not, I did not want anything to do with this man. I sent him a text letting him know how this whole thing made me feel and that if he shows up to my work he will be removed. I ended up having to let my managers know about him because my work is the only place where he knew he could find me because I never told
him where I live. Ever since I ended it with him, he has not come into my store and he has not tried to contact me. A month after I had ended this, I unblocked his number and started sending him nasty text messages. I sent a lot of profanity to him and called him despicable names. I have never been more angry and upset with someone than I am
with this guy. I'm not a mean or nasty person. When someone pushes me over the edge like this guy did I can go off.
I will never forgive him for this. This has affected my mental health. I have certainly learned my lesson after this that it is okay to say no to people. Nothing like this is ever going to happen again.
16 Jan 2020, 4:12 pm
