Genelia on her first crush

Girlfriend, by N*Sync instantly transports me to when I was five. As clichéd as it may sound, my first crush happened in the community park and literally crushed me, writes Genelia d’ Souza.

Genelia

Girlfriend, by N*Sync instantly transports me to when I was five. As clichéd as it may sound, my first crush happened in the community park and literally crushed me! We both ran for the same swing, he tackled me to the ground and sat on me. From that day on, we routinely fought and bruised each other!

At 10, crushing on a boy meant doing someone’s homework and letting him win in a football match. At 13, boys began to gain a wee bit of personality and feelings began to get complicated. Butterflies in the stomach were a natural 24/7 state and page after page was filled with heart doodles and the legendary FLAME game. The phone was the best invention and I’m blushing pink as I recollect the insane number of prank calls my friends and I made to all the cute guys in our school. I was the recipient of many calls too! Once a guy called and when I answered, he proceeded to sing Quit Playing Games with My Heart!

At 16, crushes are crucial. It’s the time you see the world through rose-tinted glasses and guys begin to notice you are beautiful and their eyes meet yours for a second longer than necessary. Sleepless nights, furtive glances and dressing up just so you bump into your crush by chance… What a heady feeling! Coffee shops become your second home. This was the time I got two amazing gifts from my crush — my first bouquet of red roses and an audiotape of my favourite songs.