by Lucy Parker

Created on: June 26, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Let's think about the age and situation of first loves. It is no secret that we all have loved someone at one point or another in our lives; some of us earlier than later in life. However, the time in which it occurred may make it more of lust than love. How do we know the difference?
I wish I could answer that question but the truth is, I believe, only we will know when we are truly experiencing true love. It is an emotional connection mixed with similarities among the involved.

My first experience with what I associated as long was in the first grade while hanging out with the neighbor boy. We were smitten with each other. Spending all our time together, playing, and even kissing. YES- kissing at seven years old. I was an early starter. But was it love?
Well, he followed me home once from school when he was suppose to be on his way to the babysitter. If that isn't love, I don't know what is. No, just kidding. But we were smitten and he made me laugh. Which was the most important thing I needed from a boy at that age.
My "first love" occurred 13 years later when I was a sophomore in college. A boy, or man, which ever you choose to call "them." I call him a boy because he would follow me around the dorms and sit at the found desk while I worked. Everywhere I turned, there he was. As much as I hated it, those moments became the reason I fell for him. He showed absolute interest in me, concern for my happiness, desire to spend time with me, and honest enjoyment for life. Not to mention determination. No matter how much I attempted to ignore him and told coworkers to get him away from me, he still returned every shift.
A determined soul, in my opinion, always deserves a chance so I finally spent a day with him and I found it. I found the one person that enjoyed playing sports and doing things that I find nice and entertaining. I lived for every waking moment in his presence, enjoying each other's company, and indulging from each day we spent just gazing at the other. Puppy love, that's what it was looking back now.
Nonetheless, I learned a lot from him. Whether it was how to treat a guy, what I expected from the one I was going to be with or the amount of time to spend together, I discovered my tolerable habits of a relationship.
When the dust clears and I finally settle down, I'll always have him to thank for introducing to love and my expectations for a dating relationship. He opened a new world to me, one which I will never forget or regret. He'll always be in my heart. As Whitney Houston sang, "I'll always love you."

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