The longer we ride the train of time, the more people we encounter and the more romantic partners we acquire. But there’s something inexplicably enticing yet simultaneously comforting about our first real love. It’s a double edged sword — if you end up with your first love in the long term, people will say “you don’t know what love is, you’ve only been with one person,” but if you end up with someone else, they’ll always be the One That Got Away. Allegedly, John Mayer’s sexy love song “Your Body Is A Wonderland” was about a girl he lost his virginity to, which makes sense since she knew him before he was a world-famous musician carnally wanted by every women on earth. At that time, he was a just a boy she slept with. I think it’s a pretty universal truth that the newness of love makes it impossible to shake from oneself fully, regardless of how old we are. Although I don’t personally identify with any singular, monotheistic religion, I do believe in karma, and that life is designed to be full circle. Therefore our first love will also be our last because:

i. They knew you before you knew who you were gonna be. At an event for your parent’s work, wearing a pink t shirt with indecipherable, possibly even fake Chinese symbols and a denim skirt. You remember what they were like pre-haircut, pre-mission, pre-war.

ii. They know the childlike version of you, which is essentially the purest version of your true essence.

iii. They’ve seen you go through everything and vice versa, and they still like you and you still like them.

iv. You can dissect Harry Potter together for days. (That just doesn’t happen anymore!)

v. They liked you when you hated yourself.

vi. They were your friend before they were your lover.

vii. Because they were the one you shared your dreams with before you started acting on them.

viii Because all roads lead back home, and home is them.