How can I make friends with this girl who I might have feelings for but don't want to date?

Well, first you need to get in touch with the fact that you do ” like, like” her. lol
Quit trying to talk yourself out of your feelings. Just be yourself and the age difference is hardly noteworthy, one year is not a big deal. The reason you’re having a hard time trying to befriend her is because you really do like her.

IF your thoughts and feelings were truly in alignment you wouldn’t be having such a hard time just talking to her on a friendly level. Clearly you are more invested in liking her in a more romantic level than you want to admit, to us or yourself. Just be yourself, let things unfold, you are trying waaay too hard to control something that just needs space to unfold and to convince yourself that you really just want to be friends.

Psychology 101, the more one protests the more guilty they are. haha

GEt her number for a club questios & take it from there. You have to be chill, too. Age doesn’t matter after school much

Ok so I won’t deny that I like her. However, even if I wanted to pursue her, though, I would still want to have been her friend first. You know? I feel like I should at least get over any romantic feelings for her, because those seem to be screwing me over the most. I just keep dorking out, (which is stupid) because of those feelings. I’d honestly rather have a new friend as opposed to the complicated messiness that comes with a significant other or potential significant other. Idk. I know that I want to be close to her, for sure, in some capacity; and while I “like-like” her, I really don’t want to act on those feelings. Maybe after we’re friends, and we know each other much better, but definitely not before I’ve ever really talked to her. And even if I decide not to pine after her when that’s happened, at least I have a new friendship with someone I really do admire.

Idk. I know that if I like her in that way, I should go for it, try to pursue her; get rid of the dis-alignment of my feelings and intentions, so that it’s easier to actually talk to her, but there’s a part of me that feels like maybe it won’t work out, and that I won’t even get to be her friend. And I really admire her and respect her, whether or not as a romantic interest.

The best way to make friends with her is just start talking to her. Start a lighthearted, casual conversation about something that’s going on around you, even if it’s something stupid like “crazy weather today, huh?” It doesn’t really matter how you start a conversation, as long as it’s something relatively normal that two strangers would say to each other. Introduce yourself if you need to.

You’re in a community service group, so there’s probably a lot to talk about. How would you start a conversation with one of your friends? Just talk about something that’s going on in your everyday lives.

Friendship happens gradually, so get to know her at your group for a while. Maybe later you can invite her to a group hangout with some of your mutual friends.

A year isn’t that big of a difference. You could totally just date her. Also, don’t get yourself into ~the friendzone,~ where you make friends with a girl and never, ever tell her how you feel, and you resent her for not dating you. A LOT of guys do this, and it amounts to leading her on with false friendship. From the female perspective, it really sucks to find out that someone you thought was a friend only wanted to date you.

It seems like even though you like her, you also respect her and legitimately want to be friends. That makes you very different from the creepy friendzone guys. Good luck!

@LastWaterBend Take it from us old folks…hesitation kills! lol
Carpe girl!

You are over thinking things and it is paralyzing you from any affirmative action.
Break the ice by giving her a little gift maybe, something you know she likes or is interested in or just ask her if she wants to hang out somewhere for awhile.
Right now the only objective it is just to find the courage to break the ice with this girl, don’t get so far ahead of yourself wondering if things will work out or not.

Just DO IT! lol

One time not too long ago I wanted to be friends with this really cool boy. We were both on the cross country team and one day my friend and I stopped to pick up the golf balls that (no one Knows who left them) were left on the soccer field. when practice was over I took the golf balls out of my pocket and was tossing them up in the air, when the boy said that he could juggle them. he took them from me and started juggling them. when he finished I took them back and told him that was really cool. from that moment on we became friends.
my point from all of this is that you should find a time when she is doing something that she is really good at, then compliment her on it Build a conversation from that.
hope this helps some.

What age difference? A year? You have a grade difference. Age is something we find eventually means little. During school years, there tends to be a lot of separation by grade, but that will soon dissolve. After I finished high school, I dated a guy for a little while who had been a grade behind me, until time for me to leave for college. I cared for him a great deal. It was funny, going with him to a school dance. He was the only one to have a date who was, “an older woman”. There were stares at first, but I didn’t mind. Lots of guys asked if they could dance with me, but I was with him, and stayed with him.
There is no secret for getting past that creepy feeling that keeps making it hard for you to talk to her. You know already what it is. It is knowing you have feelings for her which you want to keep on a back burner for now. The only thing for you now, is to decide how badly do you want to be her friend. If you keep playing mind games with yourself, you will never get anywhere. You have to simply talk to her, and build a friendship. You can do little things, like sharing. Maybe you can have some cookies with you, and offer her one. Have some sort of project, do you draw, write music? If you have a project you can show her, or a tape of you with a band, something you do that you can share with her, ask her opinion. That gives her a chance to know something about you; something which interests you.It also is an opportunity to know she is focused for a minute or two on you, and not something else. If she shows real interest in this thing you share with her, that is a first step. You have something to share besides an activity which is required. That is important. Friends don’t have to like all the same things, but they should have something in common. Also, it leads to other conversations. For instance, if you are an artist, and show her a sketch you are proud of, then if an example of your art gets displayed sometime for a school event, or just a classroom wall, you can ask her if she knows… whatever. Or if you are with a band, and you get a play date somewhere, let her know, and invite her to come watch you perform.
It boils down to, if she shows enthusiasm for something you care about, and do well, that starts everything going toward a friendship.
If you take a shot and kiss her sometime, oh well. Maybe she won’t slap you, and things will end up just fine.