The man who looked at me everywhere I went for 3 years

I have never told anybody this story because it makes me look like I’m crazy. I’m not crazy though and this did happen to me. <br><br>I was 19 at the time when this all started, and it went on until I was 22. This was pre-Facebook and everyone had Myspace. <br><br>I had just moved into a new apartment off campus, and my parents stayed with me for 2 days after the move to make sure everything was ok. My dad was sitting in the dining room when I heard him get up from the table. He walked outside saying, “I’ll be right back.” I was confused so I went outside with him. He asked me if I knew the man leaning against the car across the street from my apartment. I said no. He approached the man who immediately ran from the scene. <br><br>I thought nothing of this until I saw the man again. One night some of my friends and I were drinking at my apartment and decided to go to a bar. The man from the street was standing outside the bar. I told my friends and they thought I was crazy. We stayed anyway and had a good time. I saw him 3 more times at other bars. By this time I started telling all of my friends about the creepy guy who I continue to see at every bar I go to. I told them how my dad made the man run from my street. They said it was a weird coincidence. I didn’t think it was a coincidence though. <br><br>It had been 3 months since I moved into my apartment, and I had seen the creepy guy 5 times. I was starting to feel like I was being watched because I couldn’t go anywhere without him being there. I was sitting in my car, which was parked in the parking lot of my apartment, when I saw him walk into the building across the street from me. Then he walked out of the building and back into my view. He was looking at me as he crossed the street and was walking towards me. I immediately honked the horn and all of my roommates came running outside. They yelled at the man and he ran away. <br><br>Then it got worse. I was walking to class one morning when I saw him walking towards me. When he saw me he didn’t run, he just continued walking towards me at a slow pace. I stood still as he approached me and I could smell his bad breath. I gave him a disgusted look on my face and he continued walking. My heart was pounding as I walked into the building where my class was being held. <br><br>My friends and I would constantly go to the movies together. One night we decided to go to a movie a little farther away than we usually did. I was sitting there waiting for the movie to start when I saw him walk in. He looked around the theater until he finally found me. I yelled as loud as I could, “FUCK OFF! GET OUT OF HERE!” The whole theater started staring at us and he walked out of the theater. Everyone was asking me who he was and why I yelled at him. I told them he was some crazy guy who has been following me for months now. Nobody believed me. They thought we had a past fling and I was mad at him. This made me so mad. I knew what I was seeing and experiencing. I wasn’t making it up. <br><br>Things continue like this for another year. I stopped going to bars and hanging out in public. I felt like the moment I walked outside I would see him. I would see him on campus, at the grocery store, at my friends house, and at the park. Every time I would see him other people would be with me and they would tell me I was crazy for thinking he was following me. It got to the point where I felt like I was losing my mind. <br><br>I got a new boyfriend and things started to get better because he believed me. My boyfriend and I went to the park to hang out one day. We were sitting on the swings when we saw the man walking through the park towards us. My boyfriend immediately jumped off the swings and started running towards him. He chased him out of the park. After that I didn’t see the man for 6 months. I started going to bars again with my boyfriend and we would hang out in public. I was finally feeling like a college student who could do whatever she wanted without thinking about being followed. <br><br>Then one day it ended. I was walking to my car from the parking lot when I saw the man leaning against a car next to mine. I walked up to him and started hitting him and scratching him. I went crazy. I yelled at him and asked him why he was following me. He looked at me with a smile on his face and said “I’m just a fan.” I told him to leave me alone or I would call the police. He looked really scared so he ran away. I never saw him again. <br><br>I don’t know who that man was and I don’t know why he thought it was ok to follow me everywhere I went. I hope he is not following another girl right now. I hope he didn’t kill himself that day. I hope he got mental health help. I don’t know what happened to him after that day. All I know is that he is not in my life anymore and I can finally feel safe again. <br><br>He is the reason I will never feel completely safe. I will always be looking over my shoulder. I will always be questioning men that I meet to see if they have some mental issues that I need to be aware of. I will always remember the time a man stalked me for 3 years.