Don't let opportunities pass you by. Once it slips, it's gone forever.

This, I have experienced first hand.
When it comes to people, no one waits forever. A person may be generally patient at heart, but everyone has their limit. Once that is reached, that person won't wait for you forever. I don't want to get into details too much, but when I was a freshman I liked a senior. Because I was too terrified to speak to him , a friend of mine who had choir with him introduced us. However, I still had a hard time even saying hello to him whenever we passed one another, and that was frequent.
He asked my friend many times why I could not speak to him and she said it was because I was shy. He continually asked her that I didn't have to be because he wanted to talk to me. Try as I could, I did not get far and he graduated.I did get him to sign my yearbook though and he said that myspace was counterproductive. He must have referring to how it was easy for me to comment him but never speak to him.
I though about things and eventually realized that I had not done much and stopped liking him like that. Although I thought that was it, he and I came across one another at Church in the summer. Oddly enough, I was the one who called out to him and he actually sat with me and we had a long conversation for the first time ever. Oddly enough, I was only able to speak to him once I didn't like him anymore. Then, he left for college.
This isn't some sort of sob lost story or anything, it's more about progress. Through all those experiences that year, he helped me to learn more about myself. And to grow. I also realized that if I had gotten over my fears and spoken to him, the two of us could have been very good friends. Of course, I didn't really expect anything more than just friends, and that had been fine with me. I think now, I realize that if there is something we are given, we should not let it pass us. Because once something is gone, it's gone. And if that happens, we have regrets. No one wants that.