First Loves Blogfest

As a follow up to the Blogging A Through Z Challenge, today I’m participating in the First Loves Blogfest hosted by one of my favorite bloggers, Alex J. Cavanaugh. So today I’m going to talk a little about the first movie, music, book and person I ever loved.

It’s hard for me to say definitively which movie was the first one I ever loved, considering even as a child I was always something of a cinephile. However, my mom told me that when I was two years old and my dad had to travel a lot for work, I became obsessed with the Wizard of Oz. I became terrible upset every time he left, and the only thing that calmed me down was watching Dorothy and her friends journey across the yellow brick road. In fact, my mom got so tired of renting it for me that she finally went out and bought it, making it (I believe) the first VHS we owned.

I have absolutely no trouble remembering the first band I ever loved. When I was in elementary school, I fell in love with Losing My Religion by R.E.M. I remember playing that song on repeat on the huge stereo system in my family’s downstairs living room until my parents finally insisted that I put something else on. If memory serves me right, it was around this time I was finally given my very own CD player for my room. Wonder why . . .

My love of reading began early with one series in particular – Nancy Drew. When I was still too little to read them by myself, my mom used to read them with me before bedtime, beginning with my first (and to this day favorite), Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the 99 Steps. I was obsessed from that point on. I read Nancy Drew books day in and day out. I even used to read them on the playground at recess (that’s right, I was that kid). Thanks to Nancy and her best friends George and Bess, I am a lifelong reader. And if I ever come across a mystery that needs solving, I’ll know what to do.

Last but not least, I’m going to talk about the first person I ever loved. Now, I’m sure that the intention behind this category is to talk about romantic love, but I have something a little different in mind. To begin with, I’m an only child. I always wanted siblings, but unfortunately was never blessed with any. However, when I nearly seven years old my little cousin Allie was born. (That's her to the left. She screamed a lot as a baby. I loved her anyway). Though it wasn’t exactly the same as having a sister of my own, it always felt like it. We grew up a few miles away from one another and were basically raised side-by-side. Most of my childhood memories revolve around her tagging along after me. Though we’re six years and ten months minus four days apart (we keep track), we’ve always been incredibly close. We’ve had to be to survive some of our family get-togethers! Allie’s my cousin, my friend, and my sister all wrapped up into one, and the first person I ever remember loving. Here's us now:

Mature, right? Anyway, those are all my first loves. What are some of yours?