Crushes & Blushes!

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever," said John Keats and I firmly believe that every beautiful thing/person must be appreciated.

My teenage years surely were truly the wonder years of my life! I was quite geeky and studious. I got good grades. Lately I am reminded even more of those days because of my elder daughter who will soon turn 13! Sometimes,I see myself in her!

I was really conscious of my appearance, like any normal teenager and wished I was pretty! I always wished I was taller! I was often complimented for my good skin and hair, but I wanted to be much more than just that. I had read somewhere that a person's personality is more important than looks. So,I made a sincere effort towards the same! I learnt music and dance. I read a lot to increase my knowledge and also read biographies of famous men and women. I paid attention to the way I talked and behaved, even with friends!

Coming back to "crushes"! I remember watching Italia '90( FIFA World Cup) till late at night because my favourite football player Roberto Baggio was playing! When Italy lost the finals, I didn't eat for 2 whole days! Baggio was my biggest crush at that point of time....

My closest friend teased me a lot because I had a new crush every 10 days! Yeah, well, it was true😬!

The only Indian men I was totally smitten with were my favourite actor Dev Anand and the hottest male model of those days, Arjun Rampal! When someone told me I looked like Mehr Jessia in one of my old school pics, I wanted to laugh but I gave him my best smile and said, "Thank you!"😍( I was on cloud 9!!)

Celebrity crushes kept changing every few days - Tom Cruise remains a fixture though! Every time I watch Top Gun, I become a starry eyed teenager totally crushing on Tom Cruise! Of course all these guys you see in my collages are celebrity crushes! Let's appreciate the beauty around us❤ and thank God for the same!

My first true crush happened in the summer of 1991. I was spending a few days with my cousin and there I saw this boy(ahem!) playing cricket with others. We were watching the game from the balcony. Initially it was nothing interesting because I was never really interested in cricket! I just liked watching that boy play. In the next few days I realised we "twinned" everyday, as though we planned to wear similar clothes! His friends started teasing him a lot and and it carried on for a couple of days.

Unfortunately, I had to go back home as my vacation was over and we could never meet ! Apparently, he did come to meet me one day, but by then I had already left !We never spoke a word to each other but I thought about him for a long time.... More than a year actually!

I stuck to my celebrity crushes for the remainder of my schooldays, although I had a few minor distractions here and there! But , just like 'first love', I only remember the 'first crush' vividly! I felt as if all the love songs in the world were meant for my lovesick heart and just a fleeting memory of that person would make you tingle all over!

My mom's reaction was epic! She just smiled and said,"It's okay. Crushes are normal at this age!" (This is what made me see mummy as a friend and till date I confide in her like a friend!) I will probably say the same to my daughter !! 😎

Lately, we (my daughter and I) have a common celebrity crush - BTS (the South Korean Boy Band) and its not only their soulful music with meaningful lyrics that have us raving about them but also their attractive personalities and humility! Err, did I mention that I am totally smitten by these guys who are literally half my age!!!!

But then, age is just a number, right!😉

In the words of Anne Frank,"I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains."