6 truths about loving your teacher
1. You will never âget overâ them. Donât waste your time trying. When you see an advertisement for mountain bikes, you will think of him. When you run out of creamer at 7:45, and have to drink your coffee black, you will think of her. Their influence on your life and growth as a person will not easily be forgotten. This is okay.
2. When you graduate, or move to another grade, the loss of them will cause you to experience a grief reaction. This is completely normal. You may never cry at all, or spend months crying non-stop. You may feel nothing, or feel completely disoriented by grief. It will be easy to harbor jealousy toward their new students, especially if your teacher was particularly flirtatious or charming. Donât let it consume you. Think of you and them. If you let bitterness in, it will only eat away at the fondest memories of your relationship.
3. Time is so precious. You will be tempted to mark down every day of summer/winter/spring break to feel closer to them, but donât. You must remember that every day is a day closer to graduation. Cherish the weekends, the summer daydreams in the park. Know that even though they are not with you, that you can always âcome homeâ to them at school. Itâs worth waiting for, I promise. Six years from now, you will think of the hallways, your favorite lunch spot, even the math class you couldnât wait to get out of, and long to go back just to be closer to them. The last thing you want to do is regret wishing the days away when the days were all you had.
4. You will see their faultsâŠand love them anyway. Something will change when you move from âcrushâ to âloveâ. You will start to notice that she retaliates against emotional vulnerability, or that he sometimes uses your attention as a way of boosting his ego. They are human; it is okay to still think of them as your hero.
5. Grief will become a reality. Iâm only saying this again because it will be a while until everything makes sense. Hold on.
6. It is worth it. You may never date him, because he may already have a family, or you may never get to kiss her like you imagined. You will become a better writer, a stronger leader, athlete, or thinker, though. They are a teacher, and that is the kind of impact a good teacher has on a kidâs life. Even though there might be awkward hellos in the hallway, or a strained goodbye that leaves you feeling incomplete, you will gain so much from loving them.
