Most people find their first love in their late teens to twenties. More even find it later on. Very few find their first love at such a young age. I was one of the few. I was a lucky one. This is the story of how a 10 year old boy fell in love.
It wasn’t supposed to go down the way it happened. My parents didn’t send me there with the idea I’ll find the one I want to spend my entire life with. But plans don’t always go the way they’re supposed to, do they?
The plan was for me to go north to visit my sister for a couple of days. She had just recently moved to a new place and was looking for some family to make the transition easier. I was ecstatic. Even though she was older than me by 8 years, I taught her everything she knows. I’d never forget the day she saw me take my first steps and thought “wow, you see, I’ve been walking wrong my whole life.” I was ready to see how my teachings translated away from home. So when I heard I was being summoned for duty, I packed up my gear and prepared for the rigorous venture that included a 5-hour bus ride filled with the sickly coughs and beady eyes. It was right when I got off the bus that I first saw her. The sun was beginning to fall as orange began to cover the last shades of blue. She was unlike anything I had seen before, completely breathtaking. I just knew I had to be with her. Maybe not now, but one day, I knew she had to be mine. She had an aura about her. Her aesthetic beauty stuck with me the whole time on the trip and for the years after that she would consume my brain. Everything about her said I’m a class act, but to say that she wasn’t sexy wouldn’t do her justice at all. She was the one. She’s was what people dream about, but I yet was not ready for her, for I was still a boy and she was a woman.
I had a duty tasked upon me, so sadly, I was not able to gawk at the beauty that was blessed on me, but I promised myself that I would see her again.
When I got back from my trip, I learned that this beautiful being that I had fallen in love with happened to be quite famous. Many people adored her…many people deplored her. The fact that anyone could see anything wrong was a shock to me, but I understood. It’s like that sometimes, life can be ridiculous. There was one woman who had it in for her. I believe she was of Seminole descent, somewhere along those lines. My girl could have revived John Lennon back from the dead and she would still have scoffed at her. My girl could do no right in her eyes. In her eyes, my girl was arrogant, pretentious, and inferior. The blood was and still is bad between these two. But, for as many people that disliked her, there were just as many that wanted her just like me. I knew if I was going to get her, I would have to work hard to become the man she was looking for. As a result, that’s exactly what I did. Every day was spent on making myself better, making myself more competitive so that in a couple years I could show up on her doorstep and say “this is me, either take it or leave it.” In high school, I went in every day to take care of business and get done what I needed to do. I wanted to learn as much as I could so I could be closer to getting her. She was the first thing I thought of in the morning and the last thing I thought of before I went to bed. In high school I knew that I would be with her for good soon. I didn’t know when, but in my junior year, I ran into her again and she still looked as stunning as the day I first met her. It was as if she hadn’t aged a bit. I introduced my friends to her, but they didn’t see what I could. They had different interests, but that didn’t affect me. I wanted her for me.
Come senior year, I knew I was ready. I put the work in that was necessary and became the man that you were looking for. All that was left was for you to take me in. I sent you a letter explain to you who I was and everything I had to offer. I told you “Hey, this is me, and I’m really interested in you. I want you, I guess what I want to know is if you want me too?” On Valentine’s Day in 2014, I got a response. I was accepted into the University of Florida.
In about a month it will be our 2-year anniversary and I cannot be happier. I knew when I first met her that she was perfect for me and I haven’t been disappointed in the least bit. That’s not to say that everything is perfect. Sometimes things get tough. She also places a great deal of stress on me. Sometimes I feel that she expects too much out of me and that I’ll just disappoint her. But I know what she’s doing. She’s challenging me to become even better than what I became to get to her. She knows that she sadly won’t be able to be a big part of my life forever. There will be one day that we will have to go our separate ways. What she wants, is for when that day arrives, for me to be ready. To be ready to take on what the world will throw on me. To take on any circumstance and obstacle that may come my path. Although our relationship may still be relatively short, I know what I already have learned more with her than I could with anyone else and I’m excited to see what else she has in store. But until that day comes in which you will throw me back into the world, I’m going to enjoy the time we do have. I thank you, my dear, beautiful University. Go Gators.
No comments:
Post a Comment