Chapter 1: Love at First Sight

Mine ear is much enamored of thy note;
So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape;
And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me
On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee.
William Shakespeare

Her brown eyes met with mine like—well—not like I had hoped. I happened to be among three or four thousand other Baylor students cheering the beautiful and obviously talented young woman as she performed during the Yell-leading tryouts (Baylor's version of cheerleaders).

It was a typically hot day for Waco, Texas. "Dia del Oso", the day of the bear, festival was in full swing on the campus of Baylor University. I heard over the intercom that the cheerleading tryouts were about to begin. Of course, being a typical male freshman, I couldn't resist the opportunity to gawk over the most beautiful girls on campus. My two closest friends, Brodi and Troy, were even more excited because one of their friends was trying out for the squad. I can't remember if they were more excited for their friend, or the fact that they knew a prospective cheerleader. In any case, we headed for the intramural fields with our testosterone leading every step of the way.

Fighting to the front of the crowd, I heard Brodi and Troy yelling to their friend who was stretching for her debut. "Amy!" they yelled obnoxiously. She glanced our way, and I was awe-struck. "Amy," I thought to myself, "What an unbelievable name." Like it was something out of a fairy tale, it seemed as though I'd never heard such a name before, obviously caught up in the moment not wanting to believe she could have such an ordinary name.

There was something deep in her brown eyes that mesmerized me. I was frozen! Never in my life had I looked into the eyes of such inner beauty. They were absolutely captivating … and wait a second … "were they staring at me?" I quietly hoped, but soon realized they were staring right past me!

Before I knew it, the tryouts were on their way. One after the other the girls and guys tumbled and cheered for the crowd gathered around to vote for our future cheerleaders. In the midst of all the excitement, I noticed that Amy was glancing my way. My thoughts were running wild. "Ahh", I thought, "She finally noticed me, I knew it wouldn't be long until my looks and charm overwhelmed her!"

As these thoughts were running through my head, I suddenly realized that Brodi and Troy had dropped to their knees and had begun to chant. "We're not worthy, we're not worthy!" which is a popular line from the movie Wayne's World. Amy wasn't looking at me because she was interested, but she was looking at me because I was between two of Baylor's biggest idiots. Humiliation can't describe the rush of feelings steamrolling their way around my body. Though somehow, it managed to get worse. For as Brodi and Troy kept on with their chanting, I realized that Amy and I were looking at each other for the first time. I panicked! I was just dreaming of how suave I would have to be to get this amazing woman to notice me. Somehow, standing between two chanting morons was not my idea of smooth.

There were only a few seconds in which both of us starred into one another's eyes. It was long enough. Somehow, deep within my heart, I knew Amy was special. I remained starring long after Amy continued on with her routine. I couldn't get my eyes to look away. It was as if destiny had finally found me.

After this first encounter, I started writing poetry. We hadn't even spoken to each other, but the words to the poetry were so easily summoned from my heart. I wrote often about Amy and the different ways her image and livelihood worked their way inside my heart. This is the first poem written for Amy.

A Love Story
I saw you standing in all your glory
Smiling, laughing; but not knowing me.
I gazed upon you with eyes of merry
But still your eyes looked farther passed me.

For you could not know the way I felt,
The words between us were few and far.
But deep within my heart of hearts,
I knew you'd see me, like the morning star.

I couldn't wait to see her again, and one day while walking to class I actually saw Amy running toward me. Confused and scared I stood my ground and didn't move; hoping, praying that I was the one she was running to. As she approached where I had actually dug my feet deep into the concrete, she stopped directly in front of me. Amy looked deep in my eyes, but said nothing. Amy then reached out her hand and gently touched my face. In a soft voice she said, I love you." Whoa, I was stunned!

Before I could answer her, I painfully woke up from my dream. If only it could have been that easy! Actually, reality had a much different plan for us, and when I learned what it was, I couldn't believe it.

© Copyright 2003 Smalley Relationship Center

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