BKD 4 Eva (per 13-year-old me)

In a a very special Throwback Thursday (#TBT) on Instagram (IG), I posted a picture of my middle school crush.

It reminded me of how easy it is today to crush on someone and friendly stalk them on social media. Me, I didn’t have it so easy.

Let me start from the beginning. I was walking down the hall at my middle school, when I spotted him from afar – BKD (His real initials. Yes, I found this all out through my “research.). He was an 8th grader (*swoon*), meaning he was a year older than me. He fit my crush criteria: Older, taller, and Filipino (of course).

As fate would have it, my friend had BKD in her homeroom (called “Homebase” at our school). *Sigh* I would have done anything to switch homerooms with her. So, through her, I found out his first name and a lot of other stuff. I think she even managed to get his phone number, which he wrote on a torn piece of notebook paper. She then gave it to me, I shrieked, then placed it securely in my Velcro Little Twin Stars wallet.

My friend also managed to snag a couple of photos of him for me (in the picture, he’s wearing the white shirt). There was no way I could snag a wallet-sized picture. So, this was the only means to have a memento of him.

As my crush grew, so did my curiosity. We both had the same computer lab class (though at different times (*tear*). I managed to find his file (which wasn’t too hard since everything was clearly labeled and not much security back then) and printed his personal timeline — from birth to future.

Found out where he was born (Philippines), his date of birth (February 21, 1978) and plans for the future (join the Navy).

I don’t think I ever got close enough to smell the Tide on his black, Russell brand athletic hoodie that many times, but just the sight of him made my heart skip a beat.

The one time I did get close to him was the highlight of my entire middle school life. We actually had the same gym class for part of the year. We were running the mile, and I was running with someone. His longer legs and thin stature made him much faster than me. He passed me by and clapped his hands and I think he said “Get up girls!” or something like that.

He. Spoke. To Me. Me!

I squealed about it to my friends. It was the first, last and only words he ever uttered to me (or at least in my presence when I was within hearing range).

I might have seen him once when I was in college. I worked at events, and he (or a guy who looked like him) was a guest at a graduation that I was working. Even after many years had passed, I still got that feeling in my body, like all the blood drained from my face, down to my feet, and back up to my heart.

About 3 or 4 years ago, I noticed that a friend of mine was friends with him on Facebook. Despite having been with my boyfriend (now husband) for a decade at that time, the 13-year-old me kinda freaked out and felt a *tad* jealous. I decided to make the leap and send him a friend request.

And he accepted!

It was cool, at first. I thought about how I swore he was “The One” and that I’d never love another back when I was much, much dumber.

Per his Facebook profile, he now lives in Las Vegas and works on his art. He was always a very talented artist, and so it appears he has made a career out of it. He also seemed to be into hip-hop culture (which is totally something I’m not into), so I sometimes found his few and far between status updates to be a little annoying.

Eventually I unfriended him during one of my Friends List cleanups (of which I do many). It was fun while it lasted. I sometimes thought about asking him if he had any stories from back in the day. I’ve never known what it is like to be a crushee, so it would have been interesting.

Lesson Learned: Life doesn’t end at 13. Technology is great, so friendly stalking is easier when I get the itch.