Crush

The word crush has several meanings. As a noun or slang, it means a strong, secret romantic attraction to someone, or the person themselves. As a verb, it means to press or break something with force, to completely defeat an opponent, or to do a great job at a task. (Google Gemini AI Overview.)

Having a crush in elementary school was way easier.

You liked somebody, unbiased by their sense of style or career path.
By their music taste or intellectuality.
By their manners or lack thereof.
You liked them because they made you laugh.

And it didn't matter if they liked you back, because that was all you needed. They could chase others. They could tease you behind your back. It didn't matter.

I wish it were like that nowadays.

Everything is so analytical now. We label traits with red and green flags when, in reality, nothing about love is that objective. But we're data-driven creatures, taunted by the idea that there's a 50% chance you're wrong about the thing you're supposed to be most sure of. Sometimes a bit of oblivion feels good, but that's disappearing. 

Why does dating life feel like some kind of competition, maybe even a war? "Who's got the tallest walls?" "Who has the most ammunition?" “Where are the weak spots?” And most importantly, who's going to get out unscathed? Nobody wants to bleed anymore for what they believe in. 

Good love is easy, but it's also tough, right? But bad love can be easy too.

And they can want you back, but just not be ready.

You can wait for them, but that's not good for you.

You can move on, but you have to be sure about it, because if you give up on something real, you're plagued by a life of regret.

Seems like such a contradictory mess or maybe that’s just being 21.

But not in elementary school. They were either smitten and stuck around, or they weren’t and you were set free to play, until you saw someone else. And then a new crush appeared. No tears lost, no damage done.