| Drakee | Дата: Вторник, 25.11.2025, 14:27 | Сообщение # 1 | | Рядовой Группа: Пользователи Сообщений: 21 Статус: Offline | Let’s be honest, we’ve all got a list of strict rules when it comes to dating. You know the ones: "No exes," "No one who hates dogs," and for me, the biggest one was "No long distance." I wanted someone I could grab a coffee with in twenty minutes, not someone who lived in a completely different time zone. But my absolute best mistake was ignoring my own logic one bored Tuesday night and clicking through to https://latidreams.com/ just to see what the fuss was about.
I wasn't planning to stay. I definitely wasn't planning to care.
I was just curious. I wanted to see who was out there, maybe look at a few photos, and then go back to my regularly scheduled programming of complaining about how nobody dates seriously anymore.
That was the mistake. Thinking I could just "look."
Here’s the thing about scrolling through profiles when you aren't guarding your heart: you notice different things. Since I thought, "Well, she lives thousands of miles away, so this isn't going anywhere," I actually took the time to read.
I wasn't scanning for height or zip codes. I was reading about her love for bad 80s movies and her obsession with spicy street food.
Then came the second mistake. I sent a message.
It was innocent. Just a reaction to a photo where she was laughing so hard she was blurring out of the frame. It wasn't a posed selfie; it was real life. I typed a quick, "That looks like the best kind of trouble," and hit send.
I expected silence. Or maybe a generic "Thanks."
Instead, I woke up the next morning to a notification that actually made me smile. Not the dread of a work email, but a genuine, witty reply that made me laugh out loud before I’d even had my coffee.
This is where the "long distance" thing plays tricks on you. Because you can't just meet up for a drink to gauge the vibe, you have to talk. Like, really talk.
We spent weeks just typing. I found myself rushing home not to watch TV, but to log in. The anticipation of seeing that little "typing..." indicator became the highlight of my day.
We talked about everything. We debated the best pizza toppings. We shared photos of our boring daily routines—my rainy bus stop, her sunny walk to the market.
There’s a weird intimacy that builds when you take the physical awkwardness out of the equation. You aren't worrying about if you have spinach in your teeth or if you’re holding hands too soon. You’re just connecting, mind to mind.
I remember one night specifically. It was late for me, early for her. We were using the video chat feature for the first time.
I was nervous. Sweaty palms nervous.
The screen flickered on, and there she was. The lighting was bad, the connection stuttered for a second, but then she waved. Just a simple wave and a shy smile.
In that moment, my "local only" rule didn't just feel stupid; it felt like I had nearly missed out on the best thing to ever happen to me.
We didn't speak the same native language perfectly, but we figured it out. We used translation tools when we got stuck, laughed at our own typos, and shared music that didn't need translating.
People tell you that long distance is hard work. They aren't lying. It is.
You have to deal with time zones. You have to deal with missing them when something good happens and they aren't there to high-five.
But here is why it was the best mistake I ever made: it forced me to fall in love with a person’s character before I ever touched them.
By the time we started planning the logistics of actually meeting in person—looking at flights, coordinating schedules—I already knew her better than people I’d dated locally for months.
I knew she gets grumpy when she’s hungry. I knew she calls her mom every Sunday. I knew exactly how her voice sounded when she was teasing me.
If I hadn't made that "mistake" of expanding my search radius, I would still be sitting in the same coffee shop, swiping left on the same people, wondering why there was no spark.
Sometimes, the smartest thing you can do is break your own rules.
So, if you’re sitting there thinking, "I could never date someone from another country," take it from me. You’re wrong.
Open the chat. Send the message. Make the mistake. It might just be the one that changes everything. | | | | |
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