“You never call, you never write”: On a friendship that never happened

Last year, I met someone whom I thought would be really great to have as a friend, someone intelligent and articulate, with a wonderful sense of humor and a strong commitment to Jewish practice. Unfortunately, after a few months, I noticed that my correspondence was no longer being answered. For lack of an alternative, I was forced to conclude that I was far more interested in this friendship than the other party was. It was a great disappointment.

This isn’t the first time that this has happened to me (and, sadly, I suppose there’s no guarantee that it will be the last). When I was in college, I joined an organization for the express purpose of getting to know a particular member of that organization better. I was surprised and dismayed when someone else was assigned to be my mentor.

I’m curious as to how other people handle this sort of situation. Is it just one of those things that one must simply swallow hard and accept? Alternatively, have I been going about the pursuit of friendship in the wrong way? Is it possible that an obvious eagerness to make friends with someone can be off-putting to some people? Any suggests, advice, and/or just good old-fashioned hand-holding would be appreciated.