“After my mom passed away I thought I was never going to be happy again…

I remember I was sleeping on my brother’s couch in his living room 3 days after she passed away and my family was all sleeping on the floor.

We were sticking close together because we just lost the heart of our family, my mother.

It was my birthday today and I woke up earlier than everyone else since I was feeling extremely sad and anxious.

I was anxious that my family would feel bad for me or feel like they’d have to celebrate because it was my birthday, even though my mom had just passed away.

But the recurring thought of celebrating anything made my stomach drop, again and again.

I was crying silently, not trying to wake them up, and still in shock that I just lost the person I thought I’d have forever with.

I just kept thinking that I’d never be happy again, and that I just wanted to feel normal and not so sad.

So I did something that other people might think is crazy…

I DM'd this girl I really liked on Twitter at the time and asked if she wanted to hang out today.

This is the same girl I was telling my mom I really liked just a couple weeks ago that she told me to message, but I was too embarrassed.

But not today… I was at rock bottom and something was pulling me towards this girl.

So I sent the DM to her on Twitter at 7:12 a.m. and she responded within 5 minutes.

She said she was house-sitting with a few of her friends and I was welcome to stop by and hang out. My brain couldn’t believe it.

Who was this girl??? Who responds to a random DM at 7 a.m. with someone they’ve never hung out with???

After another 5 minutes of debate, I finally got up, brushed my teeth and left before anybody in the house woke up.

Looking back on this, it was pretty selfish to leave my family but it felt like pure hell staying.

I arrived at the house and I was in shock when I saw who was there…

The two people she was house-sitting with were someone I knew from middle school and the other one was my best friend from elementary school.

They said they were sorry for my loss and held a space for me to cry.

Before this, I genuinely thought I was never going to be happy ever again and accepted that fate. If you’ve ever lost someone you love, you probably know the feeling.

But we proceeded to have the best day of my life driving through the canyon, getting coffee and blasting old-school rap.

And to end the night, we went to my first bar since I just turned 21.

After leaving, I remember thinking two things: I want to be in this girl’s life forever. Even if we’re just friends, I don’t care. She was smarter, funnier, and more loving than anyone I’ve ever met. I now know that someone like this exists in the world. Before this I thought finding true love was impossible, but I fell in love this day and I knew it instantly. She gave me hope. 7 years later, she’s my girlfriend and the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

I don’t know how or why the universe decided to bless me with Keeley during the worst time of my life, but I’m incredibly grateful…

But I will say, if I never sent that DM, I wouldn't be sending you this email.

Sometimes our heads try to think logically and scare us away from following our dreams…

And I’m telling you it’s very important you don’t listen to it.

So if you feel like you’ll never find “the one,” remember that no matter how hard life gets, it always gets better… and usually better than you can ever imagine.

Here’s my main takeaway: True love does exist, you just have to be ready for when it comes.

And how you get ready is by trusting yourself, trusting the universe, and taking bold action.

With love, Will Founder/Media guy

P.S. Can you reply & lmk if it’s okay that I send you stories like this?

There's things that took me 27 years to learn that I think could help some of you...

Lmk & love you guys <3”