David Lepelstat - Let it Go

 

So, throughout my middle school career, I had many different crushes. It was about the time when I started to develop real feelings for my peers, but no one was allowed to hear about any of them. [audience chuckle] And that was because of two reasons. The first reason, rejection. I was scared that I would admit that I liked someone and it would get to them and then they would not like me back. That just seemed like a scary position for me to be in. [audience chuckle] 

 

The second reason was acceptance. [audience laughter] I was scared that I was going to admit I liked someone, that person finds out about it and they may like me back, and then where do we go from there? [audience laughter] I was like, “Oh, maybe then we will have to date.” And then, “Oh, what is this? We are broken up.” And then, all of my friends do not like hers and all of her friends do not like mine. It just seemed like a lot of drama at the time. [audience laughter]

 

But then, eighth grade came, and along with eighth grade came my biggest crush of all. It was on this girl named Rachel, who sat next to me in geography class. It just seemed like there was this time in my life where I was only going to school just for that class, and just to sit next to her and race her on the geography video game and see who could name more countries. She was just amazing. Like, we had all these inside jokes with each other, and I just had this feeling that I could not hold onto this crush any longer. And lucky for me, our middle school prom was right around the corner. That’s right, I went to a small, progressive middle school, [audience laughter] and we had a prom for the eighth graders.

 

So I was like, “That is a great entrance into this romantic scene in my middle school. I will ask Rachel out to prom.” So, I went home and I looked up on Google, how to ask someone out to prom. [audience laughter] I come across these things called promposals, which are these proposals for marriage, but this time for the prom. [audience laughter] A lot of them had this musical element, like someone sings a song or does a dance. So, I am thinking, hey, I am kind of musical. I can do that. 

 

Next thing I know, I am waiting for Rachel outside of class, ukulele in hand, [audience laughter] and I sing her a song, asking her to prom. It is a little bit overkill. People are like, “You could have just got flowers.” But she is laughing, and she seems to really like it and perhaps think it was cute and she says yes. And I am like, “Wow, this is so cool.” So, next thing you know, we are at prom, and it is this Under the Sea theme. There are inflatable lobsters on the floor. Every table has a seaweed centerpiece. [audience laughter] 

 

Rachel and I have this wonderful night. We are just talking the whole night, and we never leave each other’s side. We even have our caricature drawn together by the caricature artist, [audience laughter] which feels like a really big move for me. [audience laughter] It is just this magical nautical night. [audience laughter] At the end of it, we hug and we say goodnight, and I walk away and I am like, “Well, that was not so bad. That was not so scary. This is really cool.”

 

The next day, a bunch of us middle school prom couples are hanging out at Emma’s house. [audience laughter] Emma was like the ringleader of my middle school friend group. We are all hanging out watching the movie, Frozen, [audience laughter] as you do. [audience laughter] There is one point where Rachel gets up and excuses herself to use the bathroom. And at that moment, all the attention in the room turns to me. Emma stands up and she says, “David, have you had your first kiss yet?” And I say, “No.” And she says, “Oh, well, Rachel has not had her first kiss yet. She leaves for camp tomorrow for the rest of the summer. And she said that she would like her first kiss to be with you.” Wow. [audience laughter] I mean, I am not even thinking about a kiss. This is crazy to me.

 

And then, Rachel just comes back in the room, and everyone goes back to normal. I am just really in my head, like, “This is--" I am thinking, wait, I do want to have my first kiss with Rachel, but this is soon, and an ultimatum on top of it? [audience laughter] But then, as we are watching the movie, people are motioning like, “David, maybe you should put your arm around her, make a first move on the way to your kiss later today.” [audience laughter] I am still and stagnant. But then, the song, Let It Go, comes on. [audience laughter] And you know what I do? I let that arm go [audience laughter] and I put it around Rachel. She smiles and snuggles up next to me, and it seems like a good move. And I am like, “Okay, maybe I can do this kiss.”

 

But then, the movie ends, and Rachel abruptly is like, “Okay, I have to go home.” And I am like, “Oh my gosh, I am going to miss my opportunity.” But then, I am like, “Okay, I will walk you to the train.” I go and follow her to the door, and everyone is just like, “Yes, go!” So, Rachel and I are walking to the train. This is me agreeing to kiss her, I feel, in my head. [audience laughter] Everyone at the hangout agrees as well, because my phone is ringing off the-- It's going crazy. People are texting me, “Make sure you put your hands on your hips when you kiss her.” “Make sure you lean down because you are much taller than her.” “And make sure you pick a side. Pick a side to lean on.” [audience laughter] So, I am just like, “Okay, bend down, you are taller, hands on hips, pick a side, pick a side.” [audience laughter] 

 

And just like that, all of the lovely banter that Rachel and I had before is gone. She is just walking and I am just in my head and not really saying a word. We get to the train station, we walk down to the subway platform. I am just too nervous. She is waiting there for me to do something, and I can’t. And I just say, “Bye.” And she says, “Bye.” She swipes her MetroCard, and the turnstile divides us. [audience laughter] I am thinking like, why did you let all those texts get in your head? This is actually something you want to do. And then, I look and I see the train times and I see I still have one more minute [audience laughter] and something gets ahold of me.

 

So, I take out my MetroCard [audience laughter] and I go for a swipe, because love is worth wasting a MetroCard swipe. [audience laughter] I go and I meet her on the platform, and she just starts laughing hysterically. And I ask her, “Why are you laughing?” And she just says, “Oh, I laugh a lot when I get nervous.” And that makes me feel so much better, because I am really nervous as well. I ask her if she wants to have her first kiss with me, and she says yes. And so, I put my hands on her hips. [audience laughter] I lean down, because I am a lot taller than her. I pick a side. I pick the right side. [audience laughter] As the train is coming, we place a little peck on the side of our lips, and the wind from the train hits us. 

 

It is magical. [audience laughter] I am really celebrating this moment. But I do not celebrate it with her. After it happens, I run away, [audience laughter] because there is no, like, staring off longingly into our eyes. None of that. No. I just leave the train station and I am just thinking about all the moments I can have in my life that are so exciting if I just put myself out there. I went from someone who could not even admit he had a crush on someone to asking a girl out to prom with my ukulele, having my first kiss. And more important than that, establishing a really special connection with someone I like. There were so many thoughts running through my head, but one of them just kept sticking with me. I just kept thinking, I did it. Thank you.