Kiss? Yeah.

Do you remember your first kiss?

For some reason, the recent holiday, Valentine’s Day, brought to mind my first kiss. Actually, I consider that I’ve had two, but more about that in a minute. 

My first kiss took place in a movie theater. It was Christmas day, and I was 13 years old. My family had invited their best friends—my godparents—to our home to celebrate with us, and they brought Daewon with them. He was an exchange student living with them at the time. Daewon was older than me—16. Whew.

I’d never met anyone like him before. He had the curliest and longest long blond hair I’d ever seen on a boy. Moreover, he spoke with an Israeli accent, which was so exotic and sexy to me. 

After spending the afternoon with him, my older brother, his wife, and my sister decided we should all go to the movies. To my surprise and excitement, my new friend came too.

My sister’s boyfriend met us at the theater. They sat with my brother and sister-in-law in the back rows, leaving me and Daewon alone in a more crowded mid-row. I think they thought I’d be safe in the middle of the crowd.

Here it gets a little fuzzy. We talked softly to each other during the movie, and at some point, he gave me a peck on the cheek. And then he kissed me. Really kissed me, like, a full-on, grown up kiss.

I think I levitated. A chorus of angels sang.

We continued to kiss all the way through the rest of the movie. I think that first kiss changed my life. I don’t know how, but I think I would be a different person if Daewon hadn’t kissed me.

Of course, after that I kissed a number of people as I navigated my teen years. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t a kiss-aholic. Let’s see. I think I kissed 4 more people, including the person I would be with for the next 20 years. 

And then, after kissing all the wrong people, I had my last, first kiss with my soulmate. My forever love. Long-distance friends for years prior, we danced around the issue of attraction for a long time. Not that we talked about it. But one day, we both suddenly realized maybe we were meant to be more than friends. 

The moment we saw each other again, we kissed. A full-on, grown up kiss. 

It felt like home. And that kiss, it absolutely changed my life. I am a different, better person than I was before.

Your turn. Tell me about your first kiss.