Before too long, you’re going to become friends with a special person... you’re going to glance over to her in class, just at the exact same time she’s glancing at you... you’ll share a smile together and your world will become magical... she’s going to make you feel so good about yourself that you won’t even want to share your feelings with your guy friends, because they just won’t understand... you’re going to ask if you can carry her books from class to class, and she’s going to say yes... you’re going to put notes in each other’s lockers and discuss movies and music... you’re going to feel like you’ve quite possibly met your future wife, even though you just started liking her, and you’re only twelve years old... the end of the school year is only weeks away and you both start sharing your summer sleep away camp details when she pops the big question... do you want to meet me behind the gym after school today?
Before you even respond, you decide to ask a couple of your best buddies for advice... you’ve known them your entire life, well, since first grade, but you know you can trust them with your secret... you would appreciate their advice, as well as their confidentiality... one of the boys advises against meeting her because she might want to kiss you... the other boy encourages you to meet with her because he claims he has already kissed another girl in your class, and it was awesome... you make them both swear never to divulge your secret, and they both give you their word... when you arrive at the appointed time and place, and you await your fair maiden’s arrival, you suddenly realize the entire class has shown up to witness your momentous but private event... you suddenly begin to understand the gravity of the situation when one, two and then three minutes quickly pass by, and your maiden is nowhere to be seen... it’s at that point when the soft snickering eventually begins to sound like the spontaneous roaring of laughter... all eyes are on you, and you suddenly realize you are standing there, alone...
It’s important to understand the emotion of embarrassment… it’s a very strong emotion that is a part of every normal human being... when you feel betrayed by your buddies or your first crush, and you feel deeply wounded emotionally, understand that this is a temporary feeling and that you should allow yourself to feel that pain... the next step is to except that temporary feeling, understanding that this too shall pass... eventually... one slow hour at a time...
© 2021 Jeffrey Pipes Guice