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The Free Press in Love
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This Valentine’s Day, we’re sharing tales of romance found in unexpected places—on rooftops, in newsrooms, across continents, and in a fourth-grade crush that finally came true.
By Maya Sulkin
02.14.25 — Culture and Ideas
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I was a really fat fourth grader. And like everyone else at my school, I had a crush on an extremely cool eighth grader. Evan wore skinny jeans and Vans, and despite his mouth being covered in blue rubber and loads of metal, his smile was perfect. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I first saw it in 2008.

His girlfriend was my babysitter, and I often berated her about what he was like and what they did together. She was the first girl I was ever really jealous of.

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Maya Sulkin
Maya Sulkin is a reporter for The Free Press, and host of Confessions. Her reporting focuses on the ideological capture of university campuses and why young people are drawn to radical movements. She also writes about Gen Z, technology, and how AI will shape her generation. She previously served as the company’s Chief of Staff—a job she landed by sending a cold email to Bari Weiss from her dorm room at Columbia University.
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