Whenever we’re trying to write but struggling, there’s one topic that always feels pretty fail-proof: early love. And what’s more fun to free-write on than a certain aspect of early love…early heartbreak. So, tell us: Was the first person to break your heart the boy next door, your long-term partner? Did it happen without them ever knowing you had a crush in the first place? Was it dramatic, surprisingly inconsequential? Did it happen later in life? We want to know!
Share a bit about it in the comments — one line to one paragraph is usually the sweet spot — and then feel free to keep writing on your own if you’re in the zone. Need some incentive? This week, we’re offering a free one-year Narratively Academy subscription to whoever’s comment gets the most likes. So, post away! We can’t wait to read your stories.
A new kid showed up on the first day of my sophomore year in high school. He'd moved to our small Chicago suburb from some city out East, maybe Philadelphia, which made him seem exotic and mysterious. And he liked me! We dated for several months. Then one day he said he was really sorry, but he had to break up with me. He was being teased by the other guys for dating a fat girl and it was killing his reputation. Broke my heart and almost broke my spirit. But not quite.
In sixth grade there were identical twin boys whom all the girls in the school crushed on. I happened to sit next to one, the one considered the funny one and not the handsome one. He was my first crush and I hoped he would ask me to the sixth grade prom. My best friend was into the “handsome”’twin. Instead the “handsome” twin asked me and the “funny” twin asked my best friend. I said no to my twin, but my friend said yes to my crush. It definitely changed the way I looked at my friend. It was my first introduction to how girl friends can’t always be trusted as well as my first heartbreak.