I can't believe I haven't written this one yet, especially since in my book, Secrets of the Truth, the MC (Meri) has her first love.
Seriously, is there anything more fantastical than your first love? Well, yes, finding that one you realize you can't live without. Sometimes that co-exists. Not so much for me. I went the practice makes perfect route.
I remember as a girl, fantasizing that my first love would be just like a fairy tale. With songs that say, "So this is love. MmmHmmMmm." from Cinderella and "I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream." from Sleeping Beauty, how could a girl not have a picture of what first love is like.
Is love a real life fantasy?
Let's look at the basic plot of a fairy tale. Not all but most follow this format.
Intro of girl's world
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♂(boy) meets ♀(girl)
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♂ and ♀ fall in love
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↓
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♂ and ♀ are reunited
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♂ and ♀ live happily ever after
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Let's look at a real life scenario:
Girl meets boy → Girl starts doodling Boy's name everywhere → Girl and Boy start talking on phone or texting all the time → Girl and Boy hang out on weekends → Girl and Boy get bored → Girl and Boy break-up
Okay, this isn't how it happens for everyone. Mine actually cheated on me. Not fun. The fact is that I put bored because it kind of does get boring after dating a while. As a girl, you expect some opposing force to keep the two of you apart, and you are desperately trying to stay together. It doesn't have to be an evil witch, but something against the couple so it can prove your love will tackle anything. All you need is love, right?
For example, my parents hated one guy I dated in high school. Forbade me to date him. I didn't really like him, but it was exciting just trying to find ways to meet up. It was stupid looking back on it, but I wanted the fairy tale, and this was an opposing force. For my Junior Prom, I even wore those god-awful clear plastic shoes that looked like glass shoes and this flowy, ice blue dress just to mimic Cinderella. I felt like Cinderella that night, and that was enough to quell my need for a fairy tale night. I now see how lucky I was not to have so many opposing forces at that time because the world is full enough.
So maybe first love is not quite as romantic as fairy tales make it out to be. And the first kiss. Now, that's usually comical from braces brushing to noses smashing to foreheads colliding. But the feelings are real and very much everything you fantasized about. It's one of the great things about being a teenager and one of the reasons I write in that genre.
We are always preaching to teenagers that we, adults, know better and that they should listen to us. For the most part, it's true, and you should respect your elders; they have the time and experience on their sides. However, teenagers do something that I think adults could learn from; they live by passion. It could be because of raging hormones, and probably is to an extent. I think mostly it's their eyes being opened for the first time. They are given more freedoms and responsibility that allow them to be introduced to the world. They are shedding their innocence and seeing everything differently. They feel so hard because they've never felt anything like it before. And it's fascinating.
I remember from being a teenager and later from being a high school teacher, teenagers, they can put so much focus and passion into one thing. Whether it's a sport, a subject, a club, some activity, video games, or even dating, when their sight is set on something they love, it's all or nothing. Even the ones that seem indifferent to everything are fully involved in something, I promise you.
Now, I'm not saying adults don't love their significant others like teen love because it's not true. It's just different. A better different. When I finally met the one I would spend the rest of my life with, worlds collided and waters parted. Okay, I'm writing this for the eyes of the Engineer, my hubby. hehe Seriously, true love is like a fairy tale in many different ways and so much more.
You're always told that love should be easy. It's not, and it shouldn't be. This, the fairy tales show. What you don't get in that first love that you find in your true love is the struggle, unless your first love is your true love. It's being thrown against those opposing forces and getting through it together that proves how everlasting love really is. That's the fairy tale. That's what you get in true love.
So, today, whether you're remembering, experiencing, or hoping for love, take a lesson from teenagers and love with all your focus, heart, and passion.
P.S. Engineer, I'm so glad and lucky to have found my prince. You treat me like a princess everyday, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be by my side when we fight those opposing forces.
Lots of <3,
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