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First kisses: Sweet memories last forever — even if you forget the person’s name

While first kisses are generally sweet, chaste and innocent, they also have a profound effect on how you think and feel about yourself, says Manhattan writer Rachel Vail.
While first kisses are generally sweet, chaste and innocent, they also have a profound effect on how you think and feel about yourself, says Manhattan writer Rachel Vail. While first kisses are generally sweet, chaste and innocent, they also have a profound effect on how you think and feel about yourself, says Manhattan writer Rachel Vail.

By Shawn Ryan 5 min read

He was the best kisser Debbie Ewing has ever known.

Nancy Roy Nunnally was standing in the elementary school hallway, lining up for lunch when it happened. “Scared me to death!!”

Kenton Dickerson was on a church hayride. “I even remember her perfume.”

First kisses. They stay in your mind forever – even if you can’t quite remember the person’s name. But you can still feel your lips touching someone else’s.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Ewing says. “There was this cute guy I had a crush on, but he was older than me and I didn’t think anything would ever become of it. We were talking after church on a Sunday night in my driveway when he kissed me. I thought my heart would explode. I was 15 years old and his name was Glynn Jackson. To this day I think he was the best kisser I ever encountered.”