I'm in love with my teacher. opinions on what to do are needed!

It all started in 9th grade.(Senior in highschool now) I walked into his class and he was such an energetic man. He made me smile and I didn't know why. It soon became a harmless crush, yet I did or said nothing, because I was and still a closeted gay guys. He kinda of notices and play around with me. Eg: He loves to hug me and lean on my shoulder, he gives me puppy dog eyes to help him with grading and such. Although it has never been said aloud. I've never acted on impulse not once because I know it is wrong, but over the fours years I've know him (we are really good friends) I can tell it's been more than a harmless crush. This year he has a girlfriend and when I walked to his class, I gave him a hug and he told me he was sorry. I didn't know what he meant because I was just so thrilled to see him. I didn't realize he was talking about his new girlfriend until one of my fellow AP students asked him. I am sad but happy for him at the same time. I plan to tell him how I feel at the end of my senior year. I'd rather wait so things don't become awkward, do you guys have an opinion?

I think you should tell him after you graduate. It's not things that we do that keeps us up at night it's the things that we didn't and wished that we had. So tell him you just never know people can surprise you.

In my experience, crushes on teachers are really usually just these placeholder feelings. You see them as someone who really has a passion for some part of this profession, which is why they got into it to begin with. You read into things and see more there than there likely is. I wanted to see this inexperienced female teacher I had as someone who would see through my awkwardness. I felt like she didn't get the respect she deserved as a teacher, and could see why teaching was so important to her. Since it was college, it was far less of an issue to pursue such a thing as we were both of age. Still, I realized that teachers dating students is a no-no, and I realized how silly the prospect of a nobody guy dating a more successful woman was. I think we long for relationships for so long, that we begin to search for them in every corner of our life. We entertain the idea of people we never would have considered before being our next potential lover, and start to like the idea. But it's fantasy, and you typically don't get to know your teacher beyond the persona they project of themselves around students. Just like we usually don't find out about Officer Bill's love of kinky bondage while he's in uniform and on patrol, we don't get to know our teachers personally while they are dressed up and in an academic environment. You say you are really good friends with this teacher... But you didn't know he has a girlfriend. You are likely a beloved student and someone the guy isn't trying to hurt the feelings of. Maybe there is more than that? But likely not. You are in high school. You are young yet. If you want my opinion, dating in high school doesn't mean much. Once you've seen more of the real world, eventually you will meet someone who is much more compatible with you. Don't give up hope!