Crush That Worked Out by Taking a Chance

Singer-songwriter Kate Yeager came through this week with a rarity this week, a crush that worked out. More on Kate’s later, but the conversation with her did push me in a different direction this week because we talked a bit about the chance one has to actually take for a crush to actually work in one’s favor. Yes, it can be scarier than picking up the phone but at the end of the day, crushes are just unrealized daydreams until some action is taken. So while this isn’t about a crush I’ve had in particular, it is about how crushes can only work out if someone takes a leap of faith and goes for it. 

How often do you sit and think about a former crush and wonder, could we have ever been a thing? It’s not like it eats you up alive at damn near 40, but perhaps it’s just a weird little thought that creeps into the base of your brain at 2am when you can’t sleep, and scrolling for the past couple of hours has left you feeling obsolete. It’s those random (but often occurring times) that make you think about what could have been. Even if it’s far from what you ever wanted or want today. 

Take my elementary school crush for example. He could have had any girl in the 5th grade. I mean, he was one of those guys. However, he never found any of them interesting and chose to mess around with me during our group times. Did he reciprocate my crush or am I just reading too into the past after a couple of years of talking about crushes with people from all walks of life? Nevertheless, I do wonder what he thought about me all those years ago. Would it matter if he did like me and my Winnie the Pooh tees? At my age, absolutely not. However, it would’ve been insanely important to my lack of self-esteem in the late ‘90s to have known one of the most sought-after boys in school would’ve given me a legit Valentine’s Day card. 

I’ll never know though, just like so many will never know what could have been because when it comes to crushes, one of the biggest fears we have is rejection. Why take a chance when it could lead to a myriad of issues like embarrassment, heartbreak, or in the worst-case scenario – ridicule? Yeah, I think I would’ve had to change schools had I made my feelings known and he did not like me back. Then again, I would’ve survived and known and not had to wonder. Kate noted that it’s better to know than to wonder, better to know so that you can truly move on to the next – and I get her point and agree. 

For me, that’s something I hope I never have to worry about again as I’m with my forever crush. So there’ll be no need to confess a crush anytime soon. So I can only pass along this advice to anyone sitting in present wonder mode about a crush and whether or not they should go for it, or ask if the crush reciprocates the sentiments…DO IT. The worst that can happen is they say no thanks, and yeah it will suck for a minute but that minute will be a millisecond in the long run and it’s better to get it out of the way instead of wasting precious time you could dedicate to someone else who’ll appreciate it. 

So if you’re reading this and have a crush, please go for it and let me know how it panned out; for better or worse.