3. Bennett

Some wise men say that it is through pain that we learn truth. If so, then Bennett taught me more than anyone else I've ever known. In this case, there is little to say beyond this: He's the one who taught me that no matter what the storybooks say and what we've been taught to believe: love does not conquer all.

I still talk to him, though.

2. Brandy

Brandy was a cheerleader. We used to dance to Motley Crue and Poison songs in her basement. She taught me how to put on lipstick and together we learned how to kiss boys. I can't even remember what she looks like, apart from her gold-blonde hair, and that I always envied her. I remember how we used to pretend that her dad owned the Gillette corporation.

1. Kenneth

He lived around the corner from me. The teenage girl my mom would get to chaperone us used to encourage us to play Truth or Dare - it was how I received my first kiss. We would walk up into the backwoods for hours, picking wild strawberries and listening to music on his boombox. When he moved away, it was one of the saddest days of my life. A few years after, he called me randomly to let me know he was in town and that he wanted to see me. I never got to. I still can't listen to the REM song what's the frequency, Kenneth? without thinking about him.