Larger Than Life, Smaller Than My Teenage Heart Could Handle

So, before — waaaay before — I turned my attention to bad-boy metal guitarists and bikers, my teenage brain and heart did multiple flip-flops over some very, very good boys: "The Backstreet Boys!" And I think most of us are mums now to one or two little villains of our own. 

How do I explain to my child that I once had a Hotmail ID called gayatrilovesnicky@hotmail.com and actually wanted to have Nick Carter's babies? No. I think I'll take that little piece of information to the grave. Some secrets are best kept buried. 

But even now, when I listen to any of the old Backstreet Boys hits, starting with "I Want It That Way", "Everybody", "As Long as You Love Me", "Shape of My Heart" and "Larger Than Life", I'm transported straight back to being that impressionable, infatuated teenager.

And oh, what pretty faces all five of them had! Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Howie Dorough and Kevin Richardson. Clearly, they were getting much better haircuts than I was. 

Pretty, pretty, preeeetty! So pretty! Pretty enough to make a teenage girl's heart melt completely inside her chest. 

Oh my God! I'm not even going to lie. I might still be infatuated, decades later, and now with a child of my own.

Once a Backstreet Boys girl, always a Backstreet Boys girl.  Some things never change. 

Image courtesy: https://www.eonline.com/photos/21933/the-90s-when-the-backstreet-boys-were-boys