When I became a teenager the other girls at school told me that boys were bad and I should stay away from them. They said that boys and girls couldn’t be good friends with each other. I could have listened to them but deep down I knew it wasn’t true.

I have a boy bestie called Kofi. We’ve been friends since we were born. Our mothers are friends and we were also born on the same day. He’s always treated me normally. It didn’t matter if I was a girl or not. Both of us have always loved the same things. We both love football. We both love our veggies. We both love reading comics. I could keep going.

Anyway when we started secondary school an older guy had a crush on me. He would always try and talk to me in the corridors but I was shy. He kept trying to talk to me until I eventually gave in. When we started talking things were going well until he suddenly stopped talking to me. The next day I saw him walking with another girl.

I was so upset, I felt so humiliated like there was something wrong with me. I asked Kofi for advice on what to do as he was a boy.

Kofi reminded me that there was nothing wrong with me. He said my worth didn’t depend on whether a boy liked me or not. My worth comes from within me and no one can take it away.

He also told me not to take anything personally. If a boy acts weird towards me, it has nothing to do with me and more to do with him and his own insecurities.

Now I realise how special I am. I also know any boy who likes me will treat me with respect. He won’t try and embarrass me or rush things. I’m so grateful for boy besties like Kofi. It just proves that boys can make great friends and give you useful advice.