I Wasn’t Looking for My First Love – but When a Student Chose Me for a Holiday Interview Project, I Learned He’d Been Searching for Me for 40 Years

I’m 62F, and I’ve been a high school literature teacher for almost four decades. My life has a rhythm: hall duty, Shakespeare, lukewarm tea, and essays that breed overnight.

“Interview an older adult about their most meaningful holiday memory.”

December is usually my favorite month. Not because I expect miracles, but because even teenagers soften a little around the holidays.

Every year, right before winter break, I assign the same project:

“Interview an older adult about their most meaningful holiday memory.”

They groan. They complain. Then they come back with stories that make me remember why I chose this job.

This year, quiet little Emily waited after the bell and walked up to my desk.

“Miss Anne?” she said, holding the assignment sheet like it mattered. “Can I interview you?”

“I want to interview you.”

I laughed. “Oh honey, my holiday memories are boring. Interview your grandma. Or your neighbor. Or literally anyone who’s done something interesting.”