That Crushing Boy - Acting Before the Bell Rings

I'm in 9th grade and Valentine’s Day is approaching. Back up a bit though...where I came from, we never celebrated Valentine’s Day, but I'd already dealt with that at this point. I'd been hanging out with a group of girls who were into that ‘party till you get drunk on the weekend’, ‘experiment as much as you can’ scene. I came from a strict Christian home, I knew that wouldn't fly with me, but I stuck around, cause for the most part, they weren't terrible people, and I knew I wouldn't be friends with them for too long.

It was the last learning session of that day. Valentine’s Day would be the next day. Filled with a buzz of excitement and raging hormones, the class was restless. It’s still summer so the weather is hot. My friends knew that Jerome had a crush on me but was a bit shy. So, they decided to concoct the story that I was going back to my country the next day in efforts to have Jerome ask me out before I left the country. After all, this was his one shot at true love, right?? Haha remind me again, why is the high school phase so relationship-crazed?

As I watched my friends orchestrate this live chick flick I was completely immersed in, I realized I may have wanted Jerome to ask me out too. But I didn't push for it cause my strict mother wouldn't have me explaining why I was dating anyone or anything when I wasn't allowed!

It was 5 minutes before the bell rang for the end of school. In that restless room, my friends manage to convince Jerome to ask me out. From the middle row where I sat, blushing heavily, this beautiful shy guy walks up to me and says "Pascale, would you be my valentine?". He got the applause of the entire class, almost like they'd been waiting for him to ask me. He would be the first guy to ask me out. And before I could answer his question, the bell rang... Jerome taught me the value of being proactive instead of waiting for a drastic reason to take a step forward. Wrong as it was, my friends then taught me that you can create your own reality that boosts the demand for what you have to offer. You most likely won't need to immerse yourself in a live chick flick school scene, but as a starting entrepreneur, you could refuse to lower your rates in efforts to increase the demand of your product despite needing the money. You could create a sense of urgency around response time on your offer by making it valid for 3 days only instead of a week. This is how discounts operate – on the basis of urgency and exclusivity…you just need to get it now, before the bell rings! #WiseAboutFeels #SenseOfUrgency #BeProactive #SteppingUp #CreateADemand