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People Who Ended Up With Their First Crush Share Their Stories

People Who Ended Up With Their First Crush Share Their Stories
Image by JUAN FERNANDO YECKLE from Pixabay

When you find the love of your life, you want to do your best to work through any hardships and hold on to them.

But finding the right one takes time.


Many of us have had to kiss a few toads and learn from those past relationships to know what to look for in future partners in life.

And then there are those who realized what they were looking for were those who had been in their lives already.

Curious to hear about the love stories from strangers online, Redditor shnoozel_doozel asked:

"People who ended up with their first crush, what's your story?"

The feelings were mutual, but sometimes Cupid has to shoot his arrow to nudge things along.

Drunk Epiphany

"Trying to sum up a truly long story..."

"First grade, love at first sight. For me. Not her."

"She moved schools in 7th grade, I was devastated. Thought I'd never see her again, but it was a small city and I was not a smart boy."

"Mutual friends and interests saw us become good friends in high school. Good enough for her to bring me to her prom, but not enough to have a romantic date."

"Through college and after, we'd keep in touch and hang out during holidays back home, but life went on until my second college stint, dating another woman, I was hit with the need to tell her how I felt. Not to get together with her, but just to get it off my chest. She knew I liked her but not to what extent. She was having a bad time at school doing her doctorate in geology. For obvious reasons, my relationship with the other woman failed."

"Damn, this is getting long."

"That January, we got together to watch movies. I was nervous to tell her, so I kept pouring her wine. Turns out, she was nervous to tell me she had been having feelings for me for a year, so she kept drinking the wine. Her dad, laying on the floor watching the movies with us, was oblivious to everything."

"We're finally alone, she says something, I blurt out, 'WAIT, ARE YOU HITTING ON ME?' And we spend our first night as a couple with me holding her hair while she puked."

"Married in 2006, now have two amazing kids and she doesn't drink. ...as much."

cjsphoto

The Object Of Her Affection

"We met in band when I was 10 years old and I was immediately both terrified of and obsessed with her and couldn't quite identify why- over the course of middle school, the fear kind of faded- I definitely had a crush, but was fairly confident she'd never see me that way and I decided I would just try to be her friend. I definitely made a fool of myself in front of her a few times, but I tried to stay subtle about having a thing for her. At the end of 8th grade, she mentioned offhand that she was interested in someone, and I pestered her about who it was until she finally told me that it was me. Once the complete and utter shock wore off, I asked if I could hold her hand. That was 10 years ago and I plan on asking her to marry me later this year."

molybdenum9596

If your crush is meant to be your partner in life, then there should be no rush in getting together, as these couples have experienced.

The Right Time

"Uk based story."

"School trip to Longleat, a pretty blond girl on the back seat of the coach caught my eye... but I was shy when I was 14. It was ok though, I'd caught her eye and her friend told me to sit next to her."

"We dated on and off through school. I always had a crush on her. Then she wasn't there any more. I now know that her dad had got a job in Hong Kong. The plan was for her to do Olevels and she'd been accepted into the RAF and the England Hockey summer camp, so she had things lined up. But her mum decided at Christmas that she wanted to be in Hong Kong too... and by new year 1985 had emigrated with her plans and exams ruined."

"When I was 17 I got a job at the local supermarket for spending money. I was behind the cheese counter. I saw her come in, I was mortified, in my white coat and plastic trilby, so I hid in the fridge."

"I assumed she was back in town... but I didn't see her again. I thought about her often, spoke about her to my best mate wondering where she'd gone"

"I went on to my normal life, had kids etc."

"She went on to an extreme life, she'd had to steal money to run away from Hong Kong to England, with just a Teddy bear - and as it turned out, no money to get from Heathrow to Liverpool because someone stitched her up bouncing a check. Luckily the CEO of British Caledonian had seen her on the airplane and was walking past when he realised she was in trouble. She was eyecatchingly beautiful.... he got a driver to take her to Liverpool."

"She went to art college, but a friend died of drugs and felt she might go the same way, so she left there.... but then lived a life of homelessness, suffered much violence, and a full on drug fueled party lifestyle. Although also some great highs - she counted pop stars and artists as friends, ate at top restaurants and stayed in top hotels."

"When I was 40, its 2008 now - freshly divorced, very broke and in a bad way mentally her name popped up on Facebook."

"We met up... she had also thought about me in time apart. We moved in together, and have been married for 8 years and are very very happy."

"I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't hid in the fridge. I dwell on it sometimes. She has largely got over the worst parts of her early life and had successfully quit drugs in 2000 so I didn't see the party girl. But her scars remain and that saddens me when I think about it."

plentyofeight

Guy With The Waist-Length Curls

"We met our first day of high school in 1996. I sat behind him in third period English. He had gorgeous thick waist-length black curls that my hands just itched to play with. We had a few mutual friends, hung out in the same group during lunch. Most of our classes were coincidentally next door to each other, so we ended up walking from class to class together every day. Those five-minute walks became the highlight of my life that year."

"Obviously I had the biggest crush on him. I was nowhere near confident enough to tell him in high school or, for that matter, during the following thirteen years as we navigated the awkward transition into adulthood. We drifted in and out of each other's lives like best friends do at that age, but we never lost that thread that connected us. After we graduated, we met at a local diner every few months, drank bad coffee and debated Kantian ethics late into the night. (We've never quite seen eye-to-eye on the Germans, still don't). He was my confidante, the only person I could share the deepest parts of my soul with. That intense schoolgirl crush faded over time into something that felt a little more like a bottomless pool of affection and respect."

"Fast forward to 2009. I was 27. I'd just ended a six-year relationship six weeks earlier. I was emotionally adrift that summer. I certainly wasn't ready to start dating again. I called to wish him a happy birthday; he said if I wasn't doing anything, I should swing by his parents' for a slice of cake and champagne. I drove across town to find most of his guy friends helping him move his things into his parents' garage. His fiancée had called off their four-year engagement on his birthday."

"Later that night, after everyone else had gone home, we laid on his parents' driveway staring up at the stars. I asked him why he just walked away without a fight when she gave him back the ring. He said: 'Because I won't risk losing my window again. This is the first time since high school you've been single for more than five minutes. I love you. I've always loved you. I'll buy you a ring tomorrow if you say yes.'"

"I said no."

"He asked if I'd go out on a date with him. I said no, I wasn't ready."

"Then he asked if we could go get coffee at the diner. I said yes."

"As we parted again at sunrise, he kissed my forehead and said, 'There's no expiration date on that proposal.' We started dating three weeks later, moved in together two months after that. Somewhere along the way, I realized 'bottomless pool of affection and respect' is the mature way of saying 'love of your life.' We got married on our fifth anniversary, barefoot in my parents' living room, in a thirty-second ceremony officiated by my father. August will be our 7th wedding anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the first walk we took together."

"And for the record, he still has waist-length curls and I get to play with them anytime I want now."

tinquerbelle

The progression of relationships like these come naturally without any pressure.

The Friendship

"We met in middle school. Became really good friends, dated for a week as you can date in middle school. We broke up and dated a few other people. Two weeks into high school I told him to come keep me warm at the high school football game. He's been doing it now for 30 years. Three kids together now. Love every day with him."

vmgallegos13

The "Dead Weight"

"She was the only gay girl in school. She had a beautiful bob with waves in it and the sweetest green eyes. She ended up in my bio class so I had an excuse to get her number. Thousands of texts later, she said she liked me outside English. I was floored but obviously said I did too because I would stare at her endlessly. After the best first date that closeted 14 year old me could muster up, we kissed. We started dating and I brought her home at 16. My parents were so excited and threw us a party because that's what happens when your parents are hippies.

She's amazing at soccer and got a scholarship. I followed her and we moved in together. I'm dead weight to her. I can't cook, she cleans, and she never gets angry. I have actually burned water before, am a horrible cleaner, and am frustrated 24/7. She never asks for anything and thanks me for the bare minimum. Every day, I want to improve for her because she's so amazing. Both 20 now and never been better. My first kiss and my last <3"

classykiwi_

I know a few couples who were high school sweethearts, and they remain happily married to this day.

I find those relationships particularly endearing because they have known each other the longest and have been through many challenges in adulthood together.

But I don't frown upon those who had to spend time alone before finding the love of their life. Because no one should ever have to settle when it comes to sharing a life together.

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.