WOTS Love Week: Finding The "I" In Love
It took me all of seventh grade to figure out how I felt about Darren. He was effortlessly charming and one of the most popular kids in the grade. I was popular to a degree, but my associations with the cool crowd were mostly vestiges of closer friendships from elementary school, which faded through the years. I initially admired Darren in a way that seemed like envy; I wanted to be him. Or so I thought. Before long, the feelings evolved into wanting to spend more time with him, in a completely platonic, early–teenage way. Then I realized I wanted to kiss him. Cue the stomach dropping thought of, “Oh shit, I’m gay.” Darren was the first boy I had a crush on, and the first in a developing pattern of completely unattainable crushes.