This is it. The moment. You’ve checked your horoscope, the planets are aligned, and the romance in the air is so thick you can almost taste it. You’ve been chewing breath mints all day and cleaned up pretty well in that outfit you’ve been planning for months. Then, at the perfect moment, the guy of your dreams, leans in and –Bam! Your noses collide! No wait – that was just how my first kiss turned out. Needless to say, the relationship didn’t last long.
Ah, the first kiss. Not only does it put twenty-nine facial muscles into motion and burn twenty-six calories per minute, but it’s what almost every girl dreams as being absolutely perfect. Whether it is a barely-there-light-and-feathery butterfly kiss, a dry-and-quick chaste kiss, a nose-rubbing Eskimo kiss, or a slobbering-wet-and-please-give-me-a-toothbrush kiss, it’s an event that is definitely worth remembering.
Ever since kindergarten, it’s been on little girls’ minds. I’m sure we’ve all heard, “Britney and Justin sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Justin with a baby carriage” at some point. Perhaps we were even the subject of this taunting rhyme. With childhoods marked by Disney movies and happily-ever-afters, girls grow up daydreaming about the very moment that they would get their first real foot-popping kiss that would mark the start of a fairytale relationship.
One freshman, who requested to remain anonymous, actually got her movie-screen kiss! “In the play Oklahoma [a character] asks, ‘Can I give you an Oklahoma goodbye?’ I said that as a goodbye to my boyfriend because I was moving,” said the sophomore. He spun me out and spun me in and then he kneeled down so I sat on his knee. He dipped me back and then he kissed me.”
But not everyone can get this kind of aww-inducing first kiss. One third-year business major relives her first kiss horror story. “We kissed in my car after our first date at the movies,” she rants. “He was slobbery & gross & ridiculously FOB.”
Well, I hope that boy has improved his kissing skills!
While a kiss after a first date seems to be the most obvious route to smooching, kissing games is another popular alternative. Among the most popular are truth or dare (hey, I was dared to kiss him!), spin-the-bottle (please land on my crush!), or Seven Minutes in Heaven (Oh boy!).
For one junior, her first kiss came from playing one of these games. “My first kiss was Scotty Williams,” she said. “We were kind of going out but he told me that if I didn’t kiss him, we were going to break up. So, we ended up kissing in Church in the co-ed bathroom. It was kind of like a truth or dare thing. We were playing Sardines and I didn’t want to kiss him, but I did anyway. He was bad. He bit my tongue.”
So obviously, there are many ways a person can get a kiss whether it be from playing a game, using a pick-up line, or just going for it. So what makes a perfect kiss? The factors to consider include: minty breath, a romantic setting, a dashing boy, the resulting fireworks behind the eyelids, and good timing. For another junior, who also requested to remain anonymous, the guy who gave her her first kiss had impeccable timing.
“I had just gotten my wisdom teeth pulled the day before,” she said. “My cheeks were really swollen and puffy. He went in for this kiss and I got really nervous because it was my first time and I didn’t look that good. I tried to kiss him back but then I had to stop and say that I couldn’t do it anymore. He started laughing.”
Yes, perfect timing indeed. Clearly, kissing is an art. In fact, kissing is also a science! It even comes along with a super-complicated scientific word: Philematology. According to this field, the popular saying of ‘You can tell by the first kiss,’ is not completely unfounded. The first time you kiss another can, in fact, either make or break your relationship regardless of how good his hair looks or how thick his wallet is as sophomore Teal Gray says, “I think the kisses get better when you have more of a connection with the person, not just ‘like’ or ‘crush on’. My last two boyfriends were the best kissers I’ve ever been with – they both started out [as] my best friends.
So do you remember how you got your first kiss? How about the boy who gave it to you? Chances are, you probably do and this is because a first kiss is one of the many milestones people cross in their lives. It’s a step towards becoming a woman and away from being a girl. If it was good, then great – you got your perfect kiss! If it was bad, that’s fine too – you can tell your grandchildren about it. But no matter how it turned out, treasure the memory!
Our Top 3 Spots at UCLA to Have a Steamy Lip-lock:
For the Hopeless Romantic…
1. Shapiro Fountain: Flanked by Powell Library on one side and the architectural masterpiece of Royce Hall on the other, Shapiro Fountain is at the heart of UCLA. This place is especially lovely after the sun has set. Imagine being at the top of the Janss Steps, overlooking the grassy fields with your lover-boy accompanied by the sound of the fountain behind you. Romantic, no?
For the Artsy Girl…
2. Sculpture Garden: It’s only February, but the sun is out, a light breeze is blowing, and the flowers are in bloom. A walk in a garden with that special boy is definitely in order here. You can admire the various sculptures, lounge on the fresh grass, bask in the sun, or sit in the alcoves and snuggle together. Oh right – and let’s not forget – kiss!
For the Blue & Gold Fanatic…
3. Drake Stadium: For those athletic girls (and girls who just like athletic guys!), the Drake Stadium could be an ideal spot to have your first kiss. Walk around the track, maybe throw a football, play tag, or sit on the bleachers and talk. And then, during the night with the overly bright stadium lights shining on the two of you, stand in the middle of the grass and go for the kiss!
Happy Valentine’s Day! Muah!
Pictures:
http://www.exercisela.com/images/gallery/Drake_Stadium_medium.gif
http://www.housing.ucla.edu/housing_site/guesthouse/gallery/SculptureGar…
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/uchistory/archives_exhibits/campus_planning/…