Linda was my first true love. She and I met at the Police Athletic League summer camp. It started out as a joke, but then turned into a serious relationship. Linda liked this other guy named Bryan, but he only wanted to use her. It all started when my brother told me “I bet you won’t go tell Linda that you want to date her.” I said, “bet I will go tell her that.” So I went over and told her that I wanted to date her and she said “ok”. Monday through Friday, the summer camp went to different places for recreational activities. We would go roller skating, swimming, bowling and even ice skating at the R.D.V. sports complex. When the end of the summer came, we would go to a big Disney water park which was either Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. Like every teenagers relationship, we had our ups and downs. It was like I couldn’t be without her and she couldn’t be without me. I loved her and she definitely loved me. When the camp would go roller skating, we would skate side by side and just talk about life and what our future was supposed to be like together. Sometimes I would go to the DJ and request her favorite song, “Ocean Ave.” by Yellow Card. She would always tell me how cute I was and how much she loved me. On the days that we would go bowling at Airport Lanes, I would give her a hi-five and grip her hand as if I were holding it. This was the beginning of a long summer. That day I got my first kiss, and it was by Linda. When she told me that she wanted to kiss me, I said “ok!” When her soft cotton lips touched mine, I was on cloud nine and remembered the song “I’ll stop the world and melt with you”! It was like the kiss I’ll never forget because it was my first kiss from a girl, other than the kind you get from family members. The day came when we got to go ice skating and Linda loved to see me fall. She would laugh like someone had said the funniest thing in the world. After I got the hang of it, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be at first. My favorite days at camp were when we went swimming. I would wear my favorite swim trunks and I always went shirtless when I was with her. I was 14, had tight abs with a masculine build and she loved it. I used to get all the girls attention. As time passed, summer was slowly turning to autumn. We had exchanged phone numbers so that we could keep in touch. When I got home, I got a call on my cell phone, it was Linda. She was crying because she said that she couldn’t be without me. So I told her that it was going to be hard waking up knowing that I wouldn’t see her unless we set up something during a school break. I told her that I was in the middle of getting situated for school and that I would call her back later. At about 8:00 that night I got another call from her saying that she needed me to talk to her for a while. So I asked her, what’s going on? She then told me that she had started to cut herself. I said”what?” She told me that it was the only way she could get rid of the pain. I told her that I “had to get my mind straight and I’ll call you back, just stay calm, ok!” So I sat down and started to think about the stress this would add to me on top of my family and schooling. This is what I came up with. First, if I don’t break up with her, I’ll be so hung up on her that I’m going to affect my social life and school grades. Second, if I don’t break up with her I will become depressed because I’m not seeing her and it will become a problem for my family and myself to get along. Third, If I don’t break up with her, I’ll end up following her and possibly hurting myself and the one’s around me. After thinking things through, I called her back. I told her that I thought it would be best if we went our separate ways and moved on with our lives. I also made sure to tell her that if she ever needed anyone to talk to, that I was only a phone call away. She agreed! The lesson that I have learned is that sometimes in life it can be hard to be in the same world and be in two different places trying to share one love. I have also learned that there are times when you just have to let go of certain people that meant a lot to you but that you will always have a special place in your heart for them. The relationship went a different route than I had planned but things happen for a reason. It’s a part of life. The reason it happened is still a mystery and has yet to be figured out and explained to me.