It can be tough to let go of your high school crushes.
Being a teenager is one of the most formative times in our lives, and the person who makes an indent in your heart can stay there for years after you toss your graduation caps in the air. Fortunately, thanks to the advent of social media, it's not too hard to find out what happened to the person you used to think about during math class when you should have been taking notes on algebraic functions.
Reddit user, u/memeulousisapokemon, wanted to know what the past turned out like when they asked:
"Redditors, How Has Your Highschool Crush Turned Out?"
Sift Through Those Feelings
"He's a computer engineer in a big city nearby. My crush on him dissolved once I found out he seemed to just be getting high and partying in college. Not my thing."
"Years later I realized that I didn't actually like him, I just admired his strength and art skills and wished I could be him."
MarchComesIn
That Feeling When You Can't Let Go...
"Unemployed."
"Divorced."
"Alcohol problems."
"Complete fall from grace."
"And I'd still walk over hot coals for him"
invalidusername82
Things Are Still The Same
"Has a house now, no kids, single somehow.. was already pretty thin but looks kind of thinner but still hot, still the same goofy/carefree personality seems to be doing well... safe to say I deffinitely [sic] still have a crush lol"
"& [We're] both 24 now for reference."
summerlovin2818
You Lost Track Over The Years
"She asked for help deleting her facebook account. Moved away from the country and no one knows what happened to her or where she is."
TheProtagKun
Popping In And Out
"When I worked in a convenience store a couple years ago, I saw him again during work one day. He got chubby, but he still looked cute. We talked, however I don't remember what he said he was doing at the time or why he was in town."
"Don't know how he's doing now, though. Hope he's alright."
SoaringLizard
It's Okay To Be Human
"I'm gay and there was the cutest guy a grade above me and I used to just be so smitten every time I saw him. Gay 16 yr old me thought, no chance, he's totally straight."
"Flash forward like 15 years and a friend of a friend (who happened to be this guy's best friend in high school and currently) was drunkenly telling me about how he was so shocked that he just found out his best friend was gay and was in gay porn and how he had watched one of his pornos just to make sure it was really him."
"He told me his real name and porn name I was like "WHAT?" in my head, b/c how is this even possible? Lol..."
"Anyway, I must admit, I watched some of his videos (I'm only human after all) and I was not disappointed. After some light Facebook stalking (hey, his account was set to public, so sue me, lol), it looks like he's living in California as a personal trainer and is happily engaged to his boyfriend."
AReckoningIsAComing
Find Another Way Into The Family
"Married a DJ, moved to Italy, had 3 kids with him, got divorce and now lives in Boston."
"Edit: i married her cousin, did not know they were related until we were married."
harolillo
4th Time's the Charm?
"According to our state's court access page she is currently in the process of filing for her 3rd divorce to a guy who crashed his car while high on percocet."
gidikh
Ew. Scarves.
"He does loans at a bank and is married to an impossibly ugly woman who seems like a nice person. He got fat. Oh well."
"My husband's HS crush wears tons of scarves and likes taking photos by her fireplace and fake tanning."
NurseNikky
Here And Gone Again And Again
"We were friends through high school, she'd give me rides home since I didn't drive. She graduated before me and got pregnant. I saw her one time after that when she came into the school excited to show off her ultrasounds. After that, she pretty much just disappeared."
"A couple years later I found her on MySpace, we chatted for like nine minutes, and then poof, gone again."
"She doesn't seem to have any social media presence. Her sister and mother both have Facebooks, there's pictures of her kid on her mom's page, there's mention of my friend, but no pictures. It's weird."
"It's been 14 years now and I'm in a pretty happy relationship, I'm not pining for her or anything, I'd just like to know what happened to my friend."
Guvnuh_T_Boggs
A Life Well Lived
"He went into the Marines, lived in Hawaii for a while, came back a few years ago. He just graduated with a Master's degree. He's got a family, a wife and kids plus 2 of his nieces (his older sister passed away suddenly a few years ago and her 4 kids had no dad in the picture, he took the 2 girls because they were close to his daughters, his other sister took the 2 boys because they were close to her sons). He's ripped AF. Like insanely. He's a nice dude, been cool the few times we've seen each other since high school."
Lesp00n
That's Quite A Stinger
Giphy"She's working on her PhD, she's a scientist. She studies bees."
Jalsavrah
"I hope her current honey knows it. It would sting to lose someone as pure as her."
dinh-nerys
"Ah, puns. What else would I expect from the reddit hive mind? We always make a beeline for the easiest jokes"
Stormtide_Leviathan
Keeping Up With One Another
"So the story begins in high school. I had a major crush on him because he was smart and geeky like me. We texted back and forth always low key flirting and school things. We both had nicknames for each other and it was so magical. For some reason he didnt make anything official and I didnt want to push him. Senior year i asked him to prom and he accepted. Just having him there with me made the happiest person on the planet. Now, 5yrs later we only text each other on our birthdays without fail. He's doing good for himself and that's what makes me happy."
sweaterweather13
Moving On
"We dated for a while but it wasn't working, so we broke up. Then I set her up with a friend of mine and they got married right out of high school, while I took off to college. He got a trade job, and they had three kids. Couldn't be happier for them."
TheFeelsGoodMan
Using Social Media For What's It Meant For
"The last time this was posted, I realized I hadn't seen her on any form of social media ever so I did some digging."
"I found out that she's living in a huge suburban house by herself that's owned by a descendant of an old mob boss, so my guess is that she's a mafia mistress living the high life."
"My hometown actually had quite a number of single women living alone in houses like this, and it was almost always some sort of arrangement like this."
dougiebgood
Crushes Knows No Bounds
"I had a gay crush on Marceline from adventure time and now she’s with Princess Bubblegum, so that’s happening I guess."
Panroace
Yeah, Meth Will Have That Effect
"Had a crush for a year then graduated and she did meth which was an instant vibe killer"
UIclover
"Yeah I heard meth kinda ruins the mood"
the-true-color
At Least You Gave It A Shot
"She's a fairly successful environmental biologist now."
"Married."
"I wish her the best."
"We tried dating but weren't compatible."
JimmyL2014
Finding Yourself At The Top Of The Chain
"She's the department manager for a clothing store franchise last I heard. Seems like she's doing well, she's got a long-term partner and she's aged very well. I'm very happy for her."
Michael_Voerman1994
Still Stammering, After All These Years
"He's a doctor. Bumped into him when my dad was admitted. I was still nervous talking to him, he's grown taller, more muscular and he's now a bloody doctor. Who wouldn't start stammering?"
"My siblings started laughing at me though, saying I couldn't even talk properly when meeting an old friend. They don't know it, they don't know he's the guy I've a crush on. They don't even know I don't like girls."
Lovethebluebird
"She's an influencer so l see her everytime l open any social media"
RingWormGuard
"This is the worst - I'm so sorry"
AliCracker
Tastes Change
"He's a happily married high school teacher with an adorable baby. I'm happy for him. My tastes have gradually shifted and there's no wistfulness at all."
procrast1natrix
The Illusion Drops
"He became a moderately successful film maker and moved to a big city. I always felt some kinda nostalgia towards him, like he was 'the one that got away' or some sh-t like that. Out of the blue he contacted me when he was back visiting family in our small, seaside town a couple of years back. We ended up getting super high on the moonlit beach, reminiscing about school day shenanigans (and that one time we played tonsil tennis on the geography field trip in year 9) Long story short, we ended up hooking up on the beach."
"During the act, as we were trying to navigate the sand and my paranoia that we were about to be caught, he whispered in my ear "remember this moment when you're back to your humdrum existence". Never pulled my tights up so fast in my life. Needless to say this encounter somewhat demystified the 20 year sliding doors sentiments I'd felt for him. Turns out he'd turned out to be a bit of @ss."
hamwich831
Wait, But...Ooooohhhhh. I Get It.
Giphy"Reading a book in the living room, aging like fine wine, going on 20 years"
ZeroBx500
"This is the cutest thing ever and I hope you the very best"
cballadares62
Maybe social media was a mistake? We learn way more than we do at a reunion.
How did you crush end up? Let us know in the comments below.