How We Met

Sobrina mentioned the other day that I haven't said much about who Jonty is and how we met. What better day than Valentines Day to tell our story :.)

In Fall 2008, I did a semester exchange program at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England. A couple of weeks after arriving, my university's Study Abroad coordinators came to Oxford, and I was asked to attend a meeting with them, the Brookes Study Abroad coordinator, and some Brookes students who were interested in studying at Sac State (my university). This is where Jonty and I first met, and I knew that day that I wanted to get to know him better. I gave the potential exchange students my contact info, in case they had any questions or needed any help with anything. We didn't get in contact right away, but a couple of weeks before heading back to America, we starting chatting often on Facebook. I spent quite a lot of time talking to him instead of writing essays that were due that week, but I just got along with him so well and couldn't get enough. We hung out a few times, first with the intention of meeting in Oxford before meeting in Sacramento, so he would have a friend before arriving. Later, it was obvious that we just enjoyed each other's company. The first time we hung out, we stayed up talking until 6am, and the second time until 2am. The last time I saw him before leaving is when I started to realize that he might share my feelings, since he came to meet my sister in Oxford (he lives about 30 minutes away) because he planned to do some Christmas shopping anyway, but he came and went without an attempt to shop. Before leaving for a trip around Europe with my sister, I text messaged him saying farewell for now and that I would see him in the New Year, and his response was that he was "looking forward to the new year now." We kept in contact in the meantime, and when he came to Sacramento we were instantly friends. I made every excuse to be around him, and eventually we told each other how we felt. That was over a year ago, and I'm thankful for every minute I've gotten to spend with him.

It's funny how life works sometimes, isn't it? I could have studied in a different city, or even a different country. I could have stayed at UC Santa Barbara and gone on a completely different exchange. I could have studied abroad a different semester. I could have overslept that day, or gotten lost in town and missed the meeting, or simply decided not to go. A billion things could have separated us, but somehow everything aligned.

How did you meet your loved one?

<3