How Old Were You When You Got Your First Crush and Started Dating?

My first cherished memory of a fanatical admiration started when I was simply five years old. Back then, I referred to the boy I deeply admired as my 'boyfriend.' It was an innocent and somewhat playful term, but it marked the beginning of a thrilling journey. Nearly a decade later, at the tender age of fourteen, I embarked on my first actual 'going out with' relationship with a boy.

My First Crush - A Classmate with Sweets

When I was eight, I formed my first real 'boyfriend' connection with a classmate named Simon. His father owned a sweet factory, and Simon was incredibly popular among the kids because he would show up to school with large bags of sweets and share them generously. His father's gift served as a significant incentive for me. If I agreed to become his girlfriend, he promised the first choice of the best sweets. I eagerly agreed, but to spare my parents' strict feelings, we kept our relationship under wraps. We decided on a covert plan: I would drop my pencil without noticing, and when I went to retrieve it under the desk, Simon would sneak in a cheek kiss. However, fate was cruel, and one day, our scheme was discovered by the teacher. We had to end it right then and there.

When looking back, this experience was very infantile and innocent. I can hardly recall the duration of our relationship or the reason for its termination. It was a sweet yet simple episode from the past.

A Crush on a Dark-eyed Beauty

The year I turned twelve brought a new level of infatuation with a mysterious girl who had dark eyes and seemed like the love of my life. Unfortunately, she moved away at the end of the school year, and our paths never crossed again. This loss had a profound impact on me, leaving me with lifelong regrets and wondering what could have been.

First Romantic Experience

Perhaps more intimately, my first sexual encounter transpired when I was just fourteen years old. It was with a friend of my older sister who was eighteen at the time. She shared a more adult perspective that fascinated me, but my experience was primarily focused on the physical aspect. A year later, my first regular sexual partner was a year younger, at fifteen, as the niece of my aunt's husband. By that time, my age had too caught up with the previous experience, and I realized that I had hit puberty.

The First Date That Led to Marriage

As my 16th birthday approached, I went on a double date with my best friend. That night marked the start of the football game where I played both offense and defense—a physically demanding and emotionally tiring event. After the game, we ventured to Mister Donut, a local yet now defunct shop. At the time, this girl was a familiar face from early childhood, a good friend, but our bond was strictly platonic. Despite multiple dates over the following month, the chemistry just wasn't there, and she eventually broke it off with me.

Just over a year later, I met another girl. Our relationship heated up quickly, and she become my partner. We planned our wedding exactly two weeks after our high school graduation, and twenty-eight years have flown by since then. Our marriage remains strong and full of life.