Do you remember the first time you saw me? Probably not. I was just an awkward looking, freckle-faced girl that sat and giggled nervously as your gaze stopped only briefly on me. That might have been the first time you saw me-but I'd seen you at least a hundred times before. Well, that's if you count the actual times I watched you from a distance and the other times when I dreamt of you. I spent hours watching you play ball, riding a bike, a motorcycle, a skateboard, and even when you went swimming or fishing. There were so many times that I sat and waited anxiously...hoping and praying that you'd just come by-that you would see me...that you'd speak to me.
You were perfect-at least in my eyes. I'd hazard to say you were amazing. In my daydreams you were always the hero and I fantasized about you finding some clever way to catch me. In my dreams it was you chasing me. I'll bet you don't realize that you were the first boy I kissed. Yep-in my dreams you did. And it was everything I'd hoped for. In my dreams you noticed me-the real me and you were just as crazy in love with me as I was with you. It was like that for years.
For years (I know, that sounds crazy-huh?), I watched you from a distance and daydreamed. Always wishing that I was someone you'd be interested in. I reached a point where I was actually brave enough to speak to you and after stumbling over my own words a few times I was actually able to form a coherent sentence. Eventually I even started hanging around you and your friends. I tried to do things to get your attention-like climbing higher in the tree than anyone else just to impress you. I also tried to be just as tough as you...just as cool. I never cried when I got hurt-I was tougher than that. I never considered myself a sissy girl. But you never seemed to notice. You never saw the girl that was silently screaming "Hello-I'm totally in love with you!" Nope-you just saw me as another friend-just another friend who also happened to be a girl.
More years went by and I slowly matured. But to you I was still just an old friend with a smattering of freckles on my face and skinned-up knees to prove I could do anything that you or any of your guy friends could do. I did everything I could to keep up with you. But it was only because I wanted to be near you.
I gotta tell you that I hated your first girlfriend...(come to think of it I hated all of them). She was so wrong for you. I tried to warn you but you wouldn't listen. I was mad when you chose her and later I was happy when you broke up. I know that's probably a mean thing to think but I won't lie. I wanted to rip her hair out, I wanted to punch her in the face, and for a time, well, ...I wanted to be her-but only because I wanted you to want me. When you broke up with her I thought for the briefest moment you'd noticed me-but it turns out there was someone else you'd noticed. Someone more popular, someone more high maintenance. I have to admit that for a while I was envious of the cheerleaders and the preppy crowd. They seemed to possess something I didn't.
Time has a way of making each of us bloom in one way or another. It's taken me years to figure out that all those other girls don't possess what I have. True, they were pretty and popular and they had their own kind of beauty-but I'm different. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty or my hair wet. There are times when I love to dress up and get all girly but it also doesn't bother me to go without make-up. I'm not afraid to throw on the first clean clothes I can find so I can run to the store. I'm not overly glitzy and I don't pretend to be someone I'm not. I like to have fun but not at the expense of everyone around me. I laugh at funny things...and I'm gonna laugh so long as no one gets hurt. I delight in things with substance. I see beyond the airs people put on-I always have. My inner beauty is something that shines brightly-but that shine is for a select few...I don't allow everyone to see it. There is so much more to me than you could imagine. So much more everything. I tried desperately all that time to show you. I wonder, did you ever really see me?
Sincerely,
The Girl Next Door
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