This is getting a little weird.

i've had two girl best-friends. i ended up dating both of them. i wish i never had. you think that because you're so close to that person on such a personal level that you know all you need to, you're set, you're good to go. but the thing is about relationships is that pomegranate's always going to happen and in my experience the closer i am to a girl before i start dating her, the more pressure that relationship gets. it's a lot more stressful. because you'll do anything in the world to make it work because the alternative is too damn scary. and then you start to realize that that person isn't reacting like you thought they would. you thought you'd get x reaction when instead you get y. you're getting fives instead of eights, rights instead of lefts, zigs instead of zags. and it's a mixture of depressing, confusing, and anxiety-causing because it just starts rattling away in your brain. almost like a personal defeat because you're like "well i thought i knew this person", and you did, you knew that person as a best friend, maybe like a sister. all i can say is, things change. it's an entirely different ruleset once you enter a relationship with them. take that as you will. to me, it's a huge risk, one that's not worth taking at my point in life because i'm not mature enough when it comes to relationships to handle one like that. and if i'm not mature enough, chances are she's not going to be either. later in college, maybe after college, i'll start being ready. and once you're ready, i believe, then i think those kind of relationships are real winners. ones that you've already got such a gigantic personal connection already built. once you've got that connection, it doesn't take long to fall in love, believe me. but it's also a difficult peak to climb; a master of mountain climbing would still have a challenge, but would have the experience and tools to properly handle whatever situation would come. an inexperienced climber, however, things could get really ugly with, really quickly. again, take that as you will.

edit: and another thing from personal experience, it's nearly impossible to go back to being friends, even if you're only talking and not actually dating. i'm a pretty firm believer in "relationships can only move forward. if you want to go back, you've gotta start completely over"