halls of higher learning

On the few occasions that I have been at my kids' largish high school during a passing period, I've been a bit overwhelmed by the sheer mass of teenaged humanity.  My own high school was relatively small, just a little over a hundred students in my graduating class.  So while at my kids', I've mainly needed to just focus on getting from point A to point B, not really taking time to observe the general behavior.

A few weeks ago, I was in another local high school during a passing period.  Now, that school is just slightly bigger than the one I attended.  It was a much more familiar scene.  Not so much a mass of teenaged humanity, but the air was thick with pubescent hormone driven activity.

Like a lot of people, my first love came about in high school.  Living in a small town where everybody knew everybody, I knew of my boyfriend quite a few years before he was a boyfriend.  In fact, for some reason, I have a vivid first memory of watching him shoot a free throw during an 8th grade basketball game.  It would be about another three years before I took much notice again.

I was a high school sophomore and he was a junior.  We were both on the track team, and track was a sport where boys and girls practiced together - being separated by the events we did rather than by gender.  I was a sprinter, he was a hurdler and jumper.  Close enough.

We became good friends at first, getting through practices and cheering each other on during track meets.  It wasn't until early in the following school year that we began "going out".



I've always liked the quiet ones for some reason, and "DJ" was no different.  He excelled at sports, but unlike a lot of "jocks", he was rather shy.  Academically he.... well, he excelled at sports.

Soon I was head over heels, and he and I were part of the passing period PDA show.  In all, we were together for about 2 years - half of my high school "career" - which seems about 10 years in real life.




Also, like a lot of first loves, our ending wasn't without messiness.  Those final months were a roller coaster of break-up, make-up, break-up, make-up...  but we eventually got over ourselves and moved on.

Our first loves, although they usually happen when we are quite young, can be pretty powerful.  I even think they can be more powerful than those that come later when we're "mature" and have other goals and  responsibilities.  Either way, they certainly shape our future relationships.

In fact, I know that Magnum can thank/blame DJ for setting the stage for him.  But that's for a whole 'nother post...

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From the NaBloPoMo prompt:
"How old were you the first time you fell in love?"

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