Let me preface this story by saying that these events took place from 1st grade to 6th grade (2004 to 2009), and that I will not be sharing the name of the girl frequently mentioned because I believe it should be kept private in order to rightfully honor the story (although, my best friends will definitely know who I am talking about).

I met my “true love” when I was in Kindergarten, and we instantly became best friends. Though, I didn’t realize I was in love with her until 1st grade. Now, I realize that a kids definition of true love is very exaggerated and that it shouldn’t be considered all that real, but it sure felt real to me. “Guys, I am in love with this girl. I feel like my heart could burst open at any waking moment,” I repeatedly told my friends. “Mitchell, shut up, we’re trying to play kickball!” If I could tell you anything about what love feels like, I would say that it is like a roller coaster at Six Flags. There are many ups, but when you reach the top, chances are you are going to have to come down. Because of my these new and intense feelings, my best friends have frequently described my life back then and even today as a soap opera that can’t admit that it should be cancelled. “Mitchell’s Choice: A Seventeen-Part Series with Commentary.” The funny thing is that I couldn’t help agreeing with them. I spent all of my elementary years trying to woo this girl with every trick in the book. “All right guys, I’m going to give her three flowers.” “All right guys, I’m going to tell her a cheesy pick-up line.” “All right guys, I’m going to sing her a song.” “All right guys, I’m literally going to walk up to her and ask her to go out with me.” Surprisingly, nothing seemed to work. I believe that this was because, at the time, we were the best of friends and were practically inseparable, so why ruin that kind of thing? Our relationship stayed like this for what seemed like the longest time, until 5th and 6th grade arrived.
One day, I was sitting along the wall thinking about various thoughts, when my other friend Gabby came over and asked “Are you okay?” I told her, “Not really. I can’t get this girl to like me back, no matter what I do.” She consoled me for a few minutes, and then, for some reason, asked “Mitchell, by chance, is there anyone else that you like?” I thought about it for a minute, then told her “Well, there’s this other girl that is really pretty…,” and that was it. Before I could say another word, she was gone. I wasn’t ready to come out from behind the dumpster and escape from think mode, so I stayed. Just like that, she ran back and told me “Mitchell, get up and follow me. I have a surprise waiting!” I rejected her offer, but she pulled me up and dragged me against my will anyway. Before I knew it, I was heading right for the girl I just told Gabby about. When we were face to face, all I could manage to say was “……Hi.” Apparently, Gabby had gone over and told that girl that I liked her without any of my consent, and then her friends similarly dragged her over because she liked me as well. So, there we were right in front of each other in the middle of the blacktop anxiously waiting for the other person to say something. Finally, she opened her mouth and asked “So, um, do you, like, want to, like, go out sometime, maybe?” Being the ever-so-suave guy I am, I told her “fine.” After that, in elementary terms, we were dating.
Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Hey, that one guy finally got himself a girlfriend. He’s going to become so popular and go on so many great dates and be the best possible person he can be.” Well, I’ll tell you right now that you are wrong, at least about the going on so many great dates thing. We decided that we should go bowling, which I was perfectly fine with. The first sign of a problem was that I showed up to the bowling alley a half hour before she did. Being so young, I was naive, and I literally turned to my mother and said “I can’t believe she STOOD ME UP!” Of course, she did not stand me up and arrived when she was supposed too… “Hi Mitchell!” she said. “Hey!” Don’t get me wrong, I was really happy to see her, but I was a little confused and angry because she brought one of her friends on what she had called a “date.” So, there we all were standing in the parking lot about to go inside. Unfortunately, we had to go to another bowling alley because of there was some sort of tournament going on. I wanted to check just to make sure, so when I walked up to the counter to ask, I was told “Sorry kid, I guess you’re gonna have to go somewhere else. I don’t want no riffraff during tournaments,” by the scruffy man with a fairly thick accent. We finally arrived at some other bowling alley (one that seemed more aimed towards the adult crowd), and started playing. Years before, my father was on a professional bowling league, and I thought I adopted some of his skills. Because of this, I got more cocky then I needed to be when I was winning. I’m pretty sure I said things like “Let me show you ladies how its done,” and “I’m sorry, was that a strike? I think so!” I got so cocky that when the tables were turned and I was losing, I got more whiny then I needed to be. Like before, I said things like “Are you kidding me,” “This is a joke, right” and “Uhhhh. Just let me have this one strike God, I’m begging you! Oh great, thanks God. Glad to know a strike means four pins to you!” All the while, one of the worst superhero movies of all time (Batman & Robin) was playing in the on the screens in front of us. “In this universe, there’s only one absolute…everything freezes!” Come on Schwarzenegger, you can do better than idiotic puns. To add on to all of the horrid details, I complained to my mom a whole lot when these two lovely girls asked me to go to sushi with them and she had to reject. “Mom, let me go.” “No, we have to go home.” “Mom, let me go!” “Mitchell, we’re going home. Say goodbye to your friends.” “AHHHHHH. Why are you doing this to me??” Typical 5th grader.
After this monstrosity of a date, I left a rose at her doorstep in order to compensate for portraying a version of myself that wasn’t truly me and to apologize. Even after this nice gesture, she dumped me after a month. “Mitchell, I’m leaving you for someone else. I’m sorry.” Sounds like a cheesy soap opera line, right? She did this because even though I was dating her, I was still hanging out with my “true love” and she didn’t like that. To make it even worse, she dumped me for one of my really good friends, and they dated for six months. SIX. MONTHS. Although, I started to feel better after a while because I could now focus my attentions back on my true love. The greatest thing about it was that by the time 5th grade was ending and 6th grade was starting, she might have been starting to like me. We hung out even more, she leaned on my shoulder a lot, she gave me a Christmas gift, and her brother told me she liked me a lot even though she consistently denied it. “Mitch, trust me. She really likes you.” “Shut up little brother! He doesn’t know what he’s saying. His mind is…all over.” I was still happy because I had a feeling she was lying, and was certain that within a few months time, we were going to be in an actual relationship and everything would be awesome! What I called true love would finally be expressed from both sides. Then, she moved away.
It just goes to show you that not everything works out like you planned it would. On the last day of 6th grade, she came up and told me “Mitchell, I want you to know that you won’t see me around school anymore. I’m moving a few hours away, and I wanted to let you know because you’re my best friend.” Believe me, I was beyond upset. I called her the day she left to tell her goodbye, and I couldn’t get much of what I was thinking out of my mouth. “I just wanted to call you and say goodbye.” “Mitchell, that’s so sweet. I’m going to miss you.” “I’ll miss you too….okay, bye!” I’ll be honest with you, I was upset when I hung up. We had so many great memories with each other, and then they all just vanished before my eyes. That phone call was five years ago. We have talked on and off every so often, but I have only seen her in person once since she left, and even that was only for ten minutes or so. I got a hug though, so at least there’s that. Because of this, our best friend status has now been demoted to friend/acquaintance status. She has a long-term boyfriend now, which I’ve come to expect given how amazing she is, but I am not sad about it. Well, I am sad about it in some ways, but this whole experience has taught me that you can’t have regrets in life, even at such a young age. You have to live in the moment, enjoy those moments while they are there, cherish the memories you have made, and take some chances. I hope you’ll be thanking me one day.