Love Letters from Teenage Boys

By Abigail James

There was a time when if a boy wanted a girl to love him, he'd pass her notes in class, call her at home and talk on the phone for hours, and put pen to paper and pour his heart out. This was a time before cell phones and texting, email and social media, and whatever else develops in the name of "technological advancement" to further complicate the teenage experience while at the same time radically simplifying the general means by which they're expected to attempt to express their deepest feelings. Back then it took more than 140 characters to demonstrate the true passion, desire, devotion and yearning that burns and courses through young hearts. Teenage boys can be complex, wild, wonderful, dynamic and sometimes wicked and calculating creatures capable of sharing earnest, desperate, genuine, passionate, heart, guts and soul with intelligence, grace and maturity that belies their age. This collection of real love letters from real teenage boys stands as a testament to that. These letters, all addressed to the same teenage girl and diligently preserved by her for more than 20 years, date back to the late 1980s and into the early 1990s. Many of them were drenched with the writer's signature fragrance of Polo, Drakkar Noir or whatever other scent was popular among teens at that time. These boys are grown men now and have families and careers and lives of their own that don't include this girl. To that end, names, places and other identifying details have been changed or removed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abigail James
• Release date: Apr 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310818349

Book preview

FOREWORD

Dear Reader,

In the beginning, I saved these letters because that’s what one does with love letters. Girls tuck them away in hope chests or shoe boxes and treasure them because they are important and significant and they are tangible evidence that they meant something real to someone. As time passed I kept them because I felt a need to preserve my own past and these served as a legitimate chronicle of turning points in my life. Later I kept them because I thought if I had children, I could use these as a tool for my adult self to remember what it’s like to be a teenage boy or girl and have more insight into their experiences. Now that I have daughters, I keep them because I want to be able to show them how sweet and romantic and vile and vindictive teenage boys can be. I want them to know they deserve to be loved properly. It’s their right to be adored and cherished and to experience the rush of young love. The ups and downs, swings and surges are all part of an amazing ride that is only available for a brief window of time.

I’ll never pretend that teenagers are innocent. Every teenager I’ve known was all about pushing boundaries and experimenting with adulthood. You pray they’ll make good choices. You pray they’ll survive all the foolish and reckless behavior. As far as I know, the boys who wrote these letters have turned out reasonably okay, some better than others.

I’ve decided to share this collection because I feel that letters like this are a lost art form and that’s a real shame. These boys took pen or pencil in hand and made themselves vulnerable to this girl. They shared all of themselves: their hearts, their dreams, their desires, their insecurities and yes, even their demons. I fear teenage girls today don’t get this depth of experience and I want them to know that, for better or worse, teenage boys ARE capable of more than just quickie texts.

It seems to me technology has made us all so connected and yet so distanced from each other. When I was young, we used to talk on the phone for hours and hours about anything, everything and nothing at all. Sometimes we’d fall asleep with each other on the phone without hanging up. It’s important to hear someone’s voice, the nuance, the inflections, the humor, the tenderness. Texting may be an effective form of communicating, but you miss so much of the intimacy.

These letters represent a significant part of my development and these boys had a huge influence on my youth. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them.

Samantha

p.s. Here’s a little background on the stars of this collection:

JACOB

Ooooooooh, my little pre-teen heart fluttered madly for him. We went to different schools so we’d never crossed paths until we met at the skating rink. I don’t remember how it happened, but I was pretty much head-over-heels for him in no time. Unfortunately, our little fledgling relationship never had a chance to get off the ground because within a matter of months my family moved about four states away. Four states may as well have been Mars. We saved our money for long distance calls and there were a few letters. I’m not sure what happened after the last letter but obviously the distance was just too much to overcome at that age.

AARON

He was kind of a bad boy and about the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I couldn’t believe one of the coolest guys in town was interested in me! His parents were irresponsible so he had no supervision or guidance from them whatsoever. I don’t think they were ever around. It wasn’t long before a family friend stepped in and got one of his relatives to take him in. He moved two and a half hours away which, again, may as well have been Mars. I don’t remember if I ever saw him again.

RUSSELL

He will probably come off as the most sympathetic characters in this collection. He was a little older than me. He acted like a gentleman and made me feel like a lady. He boosted my confidence and we did have fun together. He was also very possessive and wanted me to be in his sight at all times. (If we’d dated in the age of cell phones, he would have been blowing mine up all day and all night.) I had to move to another state and, since he was 18, he decided he would move too to be near me. That’s a huge commitment for an 18-year-old boy! But we were in love. As it turned out though, the dynamic between us that worked in his home state didn’t work in the new state. Our relationship just didn’t translate to my new reality. I ended up breaking his heart and he packed up and moved back home. These letters chronicle that time.

BENJAMIN

We were friends first and had a mutual love and respect for one another dating back to about age 13. This was one of those relationships where the timing was just always so wrong that it made it impossible to be together. We didn’t even attempt more than friendship until I’d moved to another state. The love and respect were as strong as ever, but it just wasn’t meant to be. There are some sweet memories though.

ELIJAH

This was the most poisonous relationship I’ve ever been in. His family looked normal from the outside but inside it was toxic and it really messed him up. He was an extremely damaged individual. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I loved him like crazy. I was drawn to him like a magnet from the first time I laid eyes on him. I thought he was cute and smart and funny and I wanted him badly. Turned out he was also a selfish, immature, manipulative, cruel, controlling, condescending, insecure, desperate, confused, scared and sometimes hateful little boy who was big on over-analyzing everything, drawing up lists, playing mind games and making ridiculous accusations and demands. The letters should speak for themselves.

Girls, girls, girls, if any guy ever treats you this way, please take