It was a typical day at Centennial Middle School; it was lunchtime, the finest part of the day, despite the fact that their food was hardly edible. I was in line for pizza with some of my buddies when I noticed this girl across the room who made my heart skip a beat. I wasn't sure where I was until one of my buddies said, "Mathew, are you going to move forward?" I stepped forward, laughing, and asked him if he knew the girl over there, to which he replied that her name was Elena. At that point, I realized that love at first sight was real. - Mathew Schiess

In 7th grade, I was standing in the crowded hallways of my middle school, tuning out the surrounding noise. One of my friends was talking about the cute guy she had a crush on, pointing at him from across the open area. My gaze followed her finger to the group of boys standing in their usual spot. However, it wasn’t my friends crush that caught my eye, but someone else’s smile instead. In my memory, time stops, sound fades, and all I see in a blurry vision is that smile. The smile filled me with joy. The group of boys shifted so quickly that all I caught of that boy was his smile. That smile stuck with me for the rest of 7th grade. Sometimes, when I would stand in the hallways, I would scan the room looking for that smile, for that boy. I wanted to know who could have such a radiant smile. I wanted to meet him. I wanted to see that smile again. A couple of years later, that memory faded until I was talking to a boy I was interested in, Mathew. We were in high school, flirting in the hallway, laughing together. I looked up at him, and I realized I had found it. I had found the boy I had been looking for. The memory from 7th grade came into view as the rest of the face behind that smile was completed. It was Mathew from across the hallway, laughing at some joke I’m sure was hilarious to 7th-grade boys. My radiant boy’s smile. My Mathew’s smile. I feel lucky to see that smile often, and I look forward to seeing it as I walk down the aisle to him, my radiant future husband. - Elena Robinson