Sheryl and I had an interesting conversation yesterday about the thrill and lasting impact of first love. I posed the question, "Do you ever truly get over your first love?" Having married my high school sweetheart and first love, I believed the answer to be no. Sheryl forwarded me an interesting article from
Psychology Today that seemed to support my belief. Titled,
Lost Love: Guess Who's Back?, the article talks about the powerful phenomenon of first loves and the success of those relationships being rekindled later in life. One part I found particularly interesting said that the heightened levels of hormones during adolescence "sets the stage for once-in-a-lifetime sexual intensity paired with a unique opportunity for attachment - creating a model for love that persists for life."
Of course, not everyone looks back fondly on their first loves, as some of the artwork on
Patricia Waller's website can attest.
Whether they ended amicably or not, it is undeniable that adolescent romances are powerful and shouldn't be shrugged off as puppy love. Some YA books that do a great job depicting the intensity of first love are:
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Looking for Alaska by
my boyfriend
John Green
2 comments:
Wow...way to make me wish I was still there. I bet I could have added a few thoughts to the whole first love debate!
Yes, CLE, you should be here! Come back! Or at least come visit.
Post a Comment