Frogs turn into Princes. Princesses wake from their enchanted sleep. Poisoned apples lose their efficacy. All by virtue of true love’s first kiss.
Sigh! For we are not Disney princesses. Likely your first kiss went by without much pomp and splendor. Even more likely is the fact that you are no longer in touch with the recipient of your first kiss. So, if your first love didn’t turn out to be your forever love, don’t fret.
Instead give yourself a pat on the back and thank your lucky stars, while I tell you why!
1. Your first boyfriend is likely to have been a product of peer pressure. He is the one you agreed to go out with because your friends thought he was the right one. Needless to say, that wasn’t going to work!
2. Did you start dating because all your friends had graduated to coupledom and you wanted your place in the bandwagon? Again, that can’t have been the right choice and it’s well that it didn’t work out!
3. You may not admit it, but I’m prepared to bet that your first boyfriend was the high-school jock type. Early in our dating lives, handsome, popular and uber-cool are the qualities we tend to favour over other more permanent qualities. As a result we end up dating people who aren’t even our ‘type’.
4. People change. Period. The years of high-school and college are especially fraught with change. Perhaps you did honestly love each other at some point of time, but, with time, you developed new interests, passions and careers and outgrew each other.
5. You learnt to handle a break-up. It showed you what you want in a guy. Even more important, it showed you what you don’t want. You discovered your ‘type’.
6. The break-up(s) taught you about yourself. You introspected, you discovered your own self, you grew, and you thrived. You learnt to function as a complete person. (Also you got to enjoy your new-found freedom before getting fettered again!)
7. You also learnt how to handle a relationship – how to handle hurt egos, when to forgive, and when to push back. Perhaps you even learnt to share your last square of chocolate! You learnt to respect your boyfriend’s (and your own) personal space. You learnt to strike a balance between your love-life, your professional life, and your personal life. Your past relationships turned out to be the training wheels on your bicycle. Once they come off, you fly!
8. Lastly, you grew out of those awkward sweaty-handed make-out sessions. *Insert a sigh of relief*. Isn’t it lucky that your true love will only know the best of you?
Aren’t you glad now, that your first love wasn’t ‘the one’ after all! So while you wait for ‘the one’, fish out your highest pair of heels and your brightest lipstick and paint the town red!
Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below.
