The One

My Story

Raise your hand if you remember your first crush. Keep your hand up if you got into a relationship with that person. Keep your hand up if you're still with that person today.

Love is a very interesting thing. It can make us go crazy, quite literally. It brings people together, tears people apart, and can completely alter our lives, no matter our plan.

In the 5th grade, I discovered the existence of another human being. Me and a friend named Tyler would often just have fun on the playground like any other normal kid would in elementary school. I started to drift towards the monkey bars, however. But, there was this one stubborn girl who would always hog them and the 3 spinning wheels. Once she was done, she would move into her friend circle and start chit chatting as I took over the monkey bars. After a while, me and tyler would usually sneak up to her and her friends and eavesdrop for whatever reason. I'm not exactly sure why. However, she would often turn around and either stomp her foot down as if she was going to chase us or actually chase us. After a brief 5-10 second sprint, she would give up and return to her friends. I never thought to stop, stand my ground, and see what she does.

Going into middle school, things changed, and I mean CHANGED. As we all know, this is where puberty tends to slap us in the face and change us all into little demons for a bit. This is where my feelings began to change. I would usually sit at a lunch table with my friends outside of the cafeteria. Not far down the walk path, sat the same girl, this time with different friends. I had started to pick up more interest in her, but was still lost in my emotions.

Eventually, I determined for myself that I indeed liked her. Yes, I had a crush on a girl for the first time. I decided to tell who I thought was a loyal friend about it. I say that because, within a month, basically my whole class knew. Things happened which I don't want to get into as it's pretty traumatizing and not fun. I will say this, I thought my chances were over. She admitted to me later on that her view on me was not very positive at all by the end of the 7th grade.

8th grade rolls around and things finally calm down. For the entire year, we would often walk past each other and lock eyes for a split second. For a whole year, I felt guilt, shame, and embarrassment. Luckily, 8th grade went by faster than 7th so I escaped middle school alive. I did message her via Clash of Clans of all places asking if she was free to hang out...twice. I was rejected...twice. Her reasoning was that she was busy, come to find out later that was a lie. I did manage to get her phone number at this point from one of her friends. I didn't want to come off as weird and creepy and sent her a message asking if this was her friend's number.

Oh but we're not done yet. Here comes high school! The 9th grade was sort of a transition phase for me. I started finding new friends, meeting new teachers, and of course forgetting about middle school. However, the past didn't want to leave me that easily. I had made a friend (at least I thought they were a good friend but that's another story) who would go on and try to help build up the courage to approach this same girl. Yes, we went to elementary, middle, and high school together. I eventually built up the courage to sit at the same table and make small talk by the end of the year.

Moving into 10th grade, sophomore year, we had gotten closer and would start hanging out around the school, grabbing Jamba Juice, and finding out more about each other. I was finally winning her. At this point, only one obstacle stood in the way, our parents. Their rules had been we couldn't date until we were 16. However, on the last day of sophomore year, my dad texted me saying I could ask her out. Of course, I was sitting in the middle of PE class when I got it. So, the last bell finally rings and I wait at the gate where she comes out. As she approaches me, I stand my ground this time, ans see what she does when I ask her the magic words, "Would you like to be my girlfriend?". 4 words exited her mouth. "Oh my goodness Yes!" she said as she ran into a tight hug.

Flash forward about 3 ½ years later, we're still dating and are now sitting down together in Speech 1, public speaking. Thank you, Naomi. I can assure you, this story is not over yet, and I hope this is just the beginning.