Dear Mikaela,

I’m in love with my teacher. He’s so dreamy and smart. I get so distracted whenever I think about him. He’s obviously a lot older than I am, but I honestly find myself fantasizing about our wedding. Why is he so perfect? I love him, what do I do?

Sincerely,

Hopelesslyinlove

Dear Hopelesslyinlove,

Ahh, teacher crushes.  I’d be lying if I said I’d never had one (or…seven). It’s totally normal. You’re forced to spend a lot of time with your teachers, and they’re forced to listen to you talk.  Not to mention they’re always trying to relate to you better, and there are literally no other boys on campus to get distracted by. Throw in hormones and stuff (ew, sorry), and you’ve got a recipe for some serious teacher crushing.

The thing is, as long as the crush doesn’t interfere with your life, it’s totally harmless.  But you do have to know where to draw the line.  For example, if you sometimes blush and giggle around him, that’s okay. If you sometimes hide beneath his desk to try and seduce him after class, that’s less okay.  It’s one thing to innocently imagine what your life would be like as a cute old married couple, and it’s quite another to imagine what he would be like in bed. I have no doubt that you know what behavior crosses the line and what’s okay, but please, as sexy as it sounds let’s not have an Aria/Mr. Fitz situation here. It works on Pretty Little Liars, but it’s really never a good idea in real life. And if this teacher ever hit on you, or did anything sketch, I hope you know that that would be totally inappropriate/not okay/please tell someone.  No mater how dreamy he is, as long as you’re a minor it would be really illegal, and as long as you’re a student it would be really icky.

Basically: As long as neither of you are going to act on it, flirt away.  But don’t pretend it’s a secret. He knows what all those extra meetings are about ;).

Love,

Mikaela