Dating in high school is a large part of the high school experience. The latest gossip being whispered down the hallways is almost always about who likes whom or who the “hot couple” is at that moment. It is a time in a teenager’s life where the hormones are going crazy. Everyone goes through several crushes in their life; whether the crush develops into something more is the real question. Society has strong beliefs and gender roles in relationships. One of these is that the male should make the “first move.” I used to be a firm believer in this as well, until my junior year of high school, when one boy posed to be a challenge.
At the beginning of high school, I met some great people, we quickly became close friends, and started referring to ourselves as “The Group.” Of course, being a mix of guys and girls, there were crushes that developed within our group. In December of my junior year of high school I started having feelings for one of my closest friends named, Bobby. I had known Bobby since freshman year of high school, although we did not become close friends until sophomore year. His looks did attract me, but that was not the main quality of his that made me fall for him. Bobby had done what most people had not throughout my life, and that is take such an intense interest in my passion for horses and riding. I always found him asking me how riding was going and the best part was I could tell he was genuinely interested whenever I talked about it.
As I was growing up and dealing with heartbreak and drama as every teenage girl does in her life, my mom told me, “Find someone who wants to hear you talk about horses and cares about your passion.” When I realized that Bobby was someone who did that, I decided to listen to my mother for a change and take matters into my own hands. Throughout December, I started making my feelings for Bobby more apparent. I was ecstatic when he slowly started reciprocating these feelings as well. On New Year’s Eve that year, “The Group,” gathered at a friend’s house for a party. I was hopeful this would be the night Bobby would finally tell me he liked me and would kiss me at midnight! When it was only a few minutes away from midnight, everyone went outside and Bobby put his arm around me when I said I was cold. As the clock struck 12, my friends and I rang in the New Year. Then he looked at me and said, “Happy New Year,” and then began leaning in as if he was going to kiss me. The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy doing what felt like backflips, but before I could blink, he quickly turned his head away and began laughing. All of our friends saw what happened as well and they all started laughing so I started laughing to try and hide how hurt I was.
I was hurt by what Bobby had done but I was also angry. I was tired of waiting around for him to realize that I liked him and I knew I couldn’t let him go. I marched right up to Bobby and pulled him aside. I told him that I would have actually kissed him at midnight. To say he was surprised I said this is an understatement. I could see the shock, regret, and happiness all flash across his face in that instant. He hadn’t known I was actually interested in him at the time, which is why he did not actually kiss me at midnight. Even though it was about a half hour late, I did get my New Year's Eve kiss from Bobby that night.
Ever since that New Year’s Eve, for the most part, Bobby and I have been together. While now that story has just become a funny memory for us, I have thought several times that Bobby and I may not be dating had I never made that first move. I guess it goes without saying that I am very happy with my decision to make the first move because Bobby and I have had a great relationship thus far and he has made me very happy. It also gave me more confidence to go after what I want in other situations in life instead of just sitting around and waiting for something to happen. Therefore, no matter what society says, sometimes we have to go after what we want even if the outcome may seem scary and unpredictable, or we could be missing out on something great.
