 If I had to count how many people I've crushed on throughout my 25 years, I think I'd run out of hands before I reached my high school years. I wasn't necessarily boy crazy, but it didn't always take a lot for me to start developing feelings. A kind gesture or a zany personality was sometimes enough to get my heart fluttering. When I was in my preteen and early teenage years, I had a thing for funny boys. Maybe it's because during that time in my life, I was easily bogged down by the realities of keeping up with school that I left little to no time to address my true feelings of angst, frustration, and loss. I always felt like I had to mature fast, and the only three things that made me feel young were Disney Channel, pop music, and the boys I crushed on. In elementary and middle school, I developed feelings for the class clowns. I admired their natural ability to charm people with their easy-going, funny remarks. It didn't matter how bad my day was going. The minute we'd step into class, I'd forget all about my troubles. In eighth grade, I developed the biggest crush on, let's call him Stanley. Stanley moved to my school so he was the new student. He also happened to ride on the same school bus. At first, I didn't think much of him. I remember feeling slightly annoyed, actually. My bus held a lot of students already, so when he and his brother joined us too, I knew I was doomed to sit on the edge of my seat for the rest of the year. On his first day riding the bus to attend my school, I decided to sit next to him and this other boy in my grade. He was quiet, and we didn't talk at all. Over time, though, he became a riot. One day, he got up and started singing on the bus. The bus driver was mad and told him to sit down. Eventually, he did, but that didn't stop him from having a good time for the rest of the ride. He was a bass player and had strong aspirations to be in a band, which is actually what he's doing nowadays. Living the dream, right? I never really interacted much with him, though. I liked him from afar. Yeah, creepy, right? But hey, no shame in that. We all have stories like that. He was highly unpredictable, and I guess with my uneventful life at the time, it was easy for me to develop feelings for him. Energetic, passionate, and adventurous, he didn't care so much about school, but knew how to live life to the fullest. In a lot of ways, he taught me a lot just from my observations. When you want something, even if it's different from the usual norms, you should go for it without feeling apologetic about it. Teachers would often get frustrated with his rambunctious behavior, but underneath his wild exterior was a kind heart. Like I said earlier, my bus was always jam-packed with kids, so I started getting into the habit of sitting next to this boy who always sat alone. I guess he was super greedy about his space while everyone else suffered sitting sometimes three people to a seat. So he expressed his annoyance with me. It's the third time this week you've asked me to move over, he scowled. Stanley, sitting behind us, saw the whole thing happen and stood up for me. No one wants to sit next to you anyway, he said. I never did say thank you for that moment. I was too shy at the time. Inspired by his bold character that one day, I finally mustered the courage to tell him how I felt. I did it on eighth grade graduation day actually, over MySpace. To all my MySpacers, remember those days? I felt so cheesy, but I messaged him, keeping things short and simple. Even though my mind's racing thoughts couldn't have been more than the opposite. He was nice about it, but timing didn't work in my favor. He typed back, thank you for telling me. You seem really cool, but unfortunately, I'm moving this summer. I was crushed. All that time developing quiet, secret feelings for him, I could have talked to him more. And I felt so stupid for realizing that too late. We could have been friends, or maybe we could have grown to become enemies. Who knows? The funny thing is, when I was a lot younger, I wasn't so self-conscious. If I liked someone, I usually let them know. But man, middle school years were rough on me. This moment always reminds me to take risks, because without taking scary leaps, I wouldn't have met my current boyfriend. Rejections are part of being honest and forward. Timing might sometimes be off, but the important thing is to persevere. You never know who you're going to meet, or where you're going to meet them. Whether it's through school, a mutual friend, or OK Cupid, do yourself a favor and start recognizing things will get messy. But that should never be an excuse to not try. You'll thank yourself in the long run when you look back. When was the last time you confessed to your crush, and how did it turn out? Let us know in the comments section below. For more helpful content, please be sure to also subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching!