What I Have Learned About Love
By Mckayla, age 14, Canada
All girls have been jealous. All girls have had a crush. Some girls have fallen in love. Well, I'm one of those girls who have fallen in love ... and I fell hard.
His name was Zack. I had known him since kindergarten. He was perfect to me - good personality, funny, kind, and outgoing. What else could I ask for? At the end of sixth grade I developed a huge crush on Zack, and through seventh grade my crush on him stuck with me. One day I finally had the courage to ask him out. I found out that Zack liked me too and we hit it off. But after three months of dating I decided it was time to dump Zack since I thought I didn't like him anymore. I regret it.
A year later and eighth grade. Zack was in my class and the whole summer before eighth grade all I did was think about him. Every time Zack came up to me my heart would beat super fast and I would get really nervous. I thought to myself, Do I like him or something? I couldn't though ... Why did I dump him then? That thought kept running through my mind. I didn't want to like Zack again. I knew he didn't like me anymore and I feared rejection. Eighth grade was coming to an end, and I felt I had changed throughout that entire school year. I was jealous of all the girls Zack liked.. I wanted him to be mine so bad.
Summer of ' 08 was my worst summer ever. I cried over Zack. I had fallen in love with him. Zack got a new girlfriend, and I didn't know what to do. I thought the only thing I could do was to tell him how I felt so I didn't feel so bad. I gathered up my courage that I had hidden forever and told him everything, right from the beginning. I asked him if we could ever date again.
He gave me an answer that changed me. "Well ... I just couldn't see us being girlfriend and boyfriend, and doing all the stuff boyfriends and girlfriends do together." His answer hit me like a ton of bricks, but I totally understood.
To this day, I still have a little crush on Zack. We're very good friends and I have learned to control my jealousy. To every girl who is in love or has had the same experience as me, you are not alone. We don't need guys to have fun, and we shouldn't cry over guys if we already know the answer. I have learned something new about life. Thank you, Zack :)
