First Love

For many of us, our awkward teenage years are something we&#39re only too glad to forget. So what is it about our first love that stays with us years after we&#39ve grown out of our high school personas?

By COED Staff

Despite having moved on ages ago, and maybe even happily involved with someone far better suited for you, you occasionally find yourself wondering how he&#39s doing. But don&#39t despair &#39 you&#39re not alone. According to a classmates.com poll, 54 percent of respondents had thought about their first love in the past year, many of them even married with kids.

When you stop and think about it, it&#39s easy to understand why our first foray into romance holds a treasured place in our memories. How could we forget something as intense and exciting as our first relationship? Not only is it something we&#39d been dreaming about since Cinderella was rescued by her prince; it&#39s also a &#39first&#39 for many other things, like being so close to someone outside of your family or kissing (or more!). It&#39s the first time we&#39ve openly shared an attraction with someone, and the first time we might be feeling the ups and downs that accompany any intimate connection.

Researchers have found that falling in love has a similar effect on the brain as using cocaine, and that falling in love as a teenager is more intense than the experience is when it takes place in adulthood. It&#39s no wonder. As an important step in maturing into adulthood, what we share with our first love reveals a lot about who we are, and does a lot to shape our identity for other relationships down the road.

And when it eventually did come to an end, it was probably a shock to believe that you two wouldn&#39t be together forever. But now that you&#39ve grown, you realize that while you still might care about your first love, there are so many more wonderful people out there, and so many fascinating loves (and heartbreaks) to experience!