My First 'Celebrity' Crush

The year was 1989. The year a gallon of gas cost 97 cents, Nintendo released the Gameboy, Microsoft Office was released, the first episodes of The Simpsons were shown, and The Little Mermaid came out. New Kids on the Block, Paul McCartney, and Elvis Costello were all the rave that year. It was the year that Ronald Regan handed over the White House to George H.W. Bush. I was a mere 9 years old, and my absolute favorite thing to do was play Nintendo. Super Mario Bros. was my favorite game. Me and my brother would spend hours playing it over and over, giving ourselves different challenges each time. Sometimes we would get all the coins, sometimes no coins, or we would see how fast we could beat the entire game~different challenges like that. I think the quickest we ever beat the game was somewhere around 9 minutes. I did other things to...I liked to write, I played house, and I organized my drawers. Anyway, I didn't get out much.

I will never forget my first celebrity crush. Although, looking back, it's hard to remember what attracted me to him. I do remember that he had big gorgeous eyes, and adorable pouty lips. I think what I admired most about him though (besides his awesome accent) was his kindness. The way he cared about his friends, and how he was always trying to help them and get them to do the right things. He was always up for an adventure, and even though he was small, he was authoritative and people respected him. An all around good 'guy'~Either that or it was in fact the accent? Who knows?

I do remember when I told my parents that I loved him; my parents looked at each other with concerned eyes, and then asked me what it was that I liked about him. Although I don't remember what I told them, I do remember my mother being perplexed. 'Honey, you can't have a crush on him, he's a crab.' She really didn't know how to respond or accept it. My dad on the other hand didn't seem to mind. I guess that's the difference between dads of daughters, and mothers of daughters.

Yes, my first crush was on Sebation, the crab, from The Little Mermaid.

As an adult, I can now see the humor in the situation, and the fact that my mother was concerned rather than humored makes it even more comical. Clearly though, I am a genuine person, attracted to personalities, (or accents), and personally, I think that is a good quality for anyone to have. The crush didn't last for very long however; eventually I became attracted to Elvis Presley (great personality), and later on other boys~some of them even real! You would think that my parents would have encouraged me to date in school instead of forbidding it, however, maybe they were concerned about my judgement after the whole Sebastian crush scenario...who knows? Perhaps it was forbidden because I outgrew my cartoon crush stage? Or I guess another possibility would be so that I would focus more on my studies? Whatever the reasoning, I did make good grades in school (for the most part) and I'm confident that I also avoided a lot of high school drama.

I eventually became an adult and had normal fetishes. I dated men, and even got married. I have two wonderful children now, and I haven't had a crush on a cartoon character in years! No offense to Flynn Ryder... and I do have some pretty cute dogs, however, I am not sexually attracted to them.

Looking back, I realize that for a 9 year old to have a crush on a cartoon character is completely innocent. Although, my children have never admitted to crushing on any, I wouldn’t mind if they did. I believe that people should do what makes them happy, even if the world rejects their ideas or strategies. Love with all of your heart, and don’t let anyone tell you that the way you love is wrong. Be you and be happy.