Waiting for him to come around

Back in college, there was this guy that I really wanted to go out with. We were friends, and for various reasons he said he was interested in me but wasn't ready for a relationship. Stupidly, I said I would wait for him. And as you probably have guessed by now, he never came around.

I see now that his telling me that he wasn't "ready" for a relationship really meant that he just wasn't that into me. (Thanks, Greg and Liz.) I'm pretty sure my friends knew this but were too nice to tell me. But at the time, I couldn't see that, and I held out hope that when he was "ready" we would be together.

So I waited. And waited. And waited. And, whoops! He got a girlfriend all right, but it just wasn't me.

Pain and heartache followed, and it all could have been avoided (or at least dealt with months earlier) if I had just decided to move on and not wait around for someone who wasn't going to be there later. Ruined the friendship, too. That was a bummer.

Has anyone else told anyone they would wait for them? How did that turn out? Has someone told you they would wait for you? What did you think about that? Is waiting for someone ever a good idea? I'm inclined to say no, but I could be wrong.