I met my husband while teaching him English. He's still my favorite conversation partner 14 years later.

Courtesy of Mary Kearl

It was December 2010, and the English language learning program where I was a volunteer in Queens, New York, was hosting a party for graduates and volunteers. One of the students I'd been helping practice his conversational skills, who was around my age, asked me to dance. Feeling intimidated in a room full of people who seemed to move effortlessly in time with the music, I said no. My dad, who was also a volunteer, encouraged me to go back and dance anyway.