Bloggers "Firsts" - "and the popularity of beanie babies hit its peak."

 I Started following E.Day like centuries ago

(aka a year ago)

I came across her witty blog and i was all

we would be friends.

So naturally i left her a comment and told her so.

Ya, i made the first move,

but she quickly reciprocated.

It's been true love ever since.

Read the following and youll see why.

********

it was third grade.

the notes on the chalkboard were blurry, so i squinted a lot. i picked caterpillars off the trees and let them crawl on me at recess. and i struggled to tackle the correct spelling of the word "porcelain" for my creative stories in class that typically centered around magical seashells transporting people to a different time.

i was a little bit different, but one day, things got better. i got glasses and stopped squinting, i made a new friend named martha*, and the popularity of beanie babies hit its peak.

emily, the third grader, sitting in a field with martha's bunny. no, this picture is not a joke.

one day, i began to notice a boy.

my first boyfriend, eric*, had moved away after first grade. it wasn't a messy breakup at all, and we remained close penpals. i informed him that i received two stuffed polar bears for my birthday, and he told me he doubted those polar bears were as cute as me. i appreciated his flattery, but i was ready to move on.

new boy's name was devin* and he was eric's former best friend. he had a coveted beanie baby, his mom made him the best turkey sub sandwiches for lunch, and martha, devin, and i sat next to each other every day in class and at lunch.

after relentlessly harassing my parents on my newfound quest to have friends, i got a rover the red dog beanie baby so i could be like him and martha, and when he shared half of his sandwiches with me at lunch every day, i knew it was love.

the next week with devin was a blissful montage of made up beanie baby plays, stealing pencils from each other during class and giggling hysterically, and tickling fests. but friends, all perfect things must come to an end.

usually an awkward one, if you're me.

my short-lived relationship with devin was destroyed one day in class when i noticed him passing notes to martha instead of me. i intercepted the note, which held the telltale "check yes or no" signs of an early relationship, and my heart was broken. face red and glasses foggy, i did the only mature and reasonable thing i knew how: i tattled. 

the next few moments passed in a blur (literally, because my glasses were still fogged up from my embarrassment). the three of us were placed in separate corners of the classroom, our seating charts were permanently altered, and i returned to my forgotten world of caterpillars and creative writing escapades, friendless once again.

but time heals all wounds. i have a better boy now, who shares his food with me and never passes notes to my friends. i eventually stopped letting caterpillars crawl on me.

and i did eventually make some friends.

*names seen in this story have not been changed. some of them are currently my facebook friends.