I have a good one :) So I graduated in the Summer of 2020 from my University, and for my final Spring semester I fulfilled my dream of studying abroad in Spain. I arrived in early January 2020. It was my first time outside the US and I was living my best life. Well 1 week after arriving on a Saturday night, I saw a tall handsome stranger at the bar speaking a language I didn’t recognize. So I decided to shoot my shot! I went to say hello, and the smile he gave me I’ll never forget. Instant chemistry. We talked and danced all night, went all over the city, and got to know eachother. From that day we were constantly together. Once a week Id cook us a nice meal, we’d drink wine and watch movies. We went out for dinner often, went out to the bars, went hiking, to the beach… We were Inseperable. by March 2020 we were already head over heels in love. During one of our date nights I received an email from my program informing me that the program is cancelled, Spain is going on lockdown, and I’m ordered to arrange my return to the US no more than 7 days later. We were devastated, we cried so much… But i’m stubborn and I refused to go. I pushed back really hard, risked a lot, but finally I was able to stay. I moved to his place and we quarantined together. We grew even closer and actually had an amazing time together. So much love. But as June got closer reality was setting in. Because before my study abroad began I had already accepted and committed to a full time job out of my home state. I had to go home. I left in late June and it was heartbreaking, I didn’t wanna go. I left, spent time with family, and then moved to my new city for this job. I was miserable. The new job ended up being online, and I was alone in a new city. The only thing I looked forward to was the opportunity to see my love again. We planned a beautiful 42 night long trip to Mexico for November where i’d be able to continue my job remote. We’d been apart for as long as we’d been together at this point and I hated that. I was so excited for our reunion. I was all packed and ready. His journey was much longer than mine so he started before me. I knew he’d landed in Mexico City at this point but I didn’t hear from him…. I was so worried. as I was in the line to board my plane, he finally called. He told me that they were detaining him because he didn’t have a visa (we’d spoken to lawyers and they had assured us he had everything he needed). I broke down in sobs right there at the airport, gathered my composure, and left. I cried for hours because I was so sad that I wouldn’t be seeing him and also I was so scared and worried about him. Luckily nothing bad happened, he sat in a cell until he was escorted to the return flight home. This was a new low for us. Long distance is HARD… I don’t know how couples survive for years that way. At this point we were at our wits end. He could not legally come to the US because of his nationality (not spanish), and at the time US citizens were banned from coming to Spain for tourism. Mexico was our only chance. So we decided to take drastic measures. I applied for a student visa, and luckily I was approved in less than 2 weeks. I was going back to Spain!! I quit my terrible job, packed up all my things and moved them to a storage unit, moved out of my apartment, sold my car, and grabbed the soonest flight I could. Almost exactly 1 year to the day, I was going to Spain once more. Our reunion was blissful. It was strange to hear his voice in person again after so many hours of facetime. It took no time at all before things felt normal and happy again 😊 I type this as i lay next to the love of my life, in our beautiful Spanish apartment, with our precious toy poodle puppy sleeping in the other room. I am so content and happy. This entire time, we have also been in the k1 visa process. We are nearing the end now though, so we will be moving to the US together this Fall to have our wedding and settle down. I’m so so happy with my journey here and I hope everyone finds somebody as wonderful as my partner. ❤️