3.
“It wasn’t really abroad as such, but going from England to Scotland. I might a girl online on a forum about a show. We started messaging privately on the website and then decided to exchange numbers. I knew that this was risky, and I never gave away my address. We texted lots and talked every single day, so it turned into phone calls nearly every evening. That way, I could hear that it was a Scottish teenage girl on the other end of the phone. I still remained cautious, however. I was then given a computer, which meant I could set up MSN messaging in my bedroom and got myself a webcam. I know, dangerous territory, but when you’re young, and you think you’re in love, you do silly things.”
“Anyway, again it was a very beautiful teenage girl showing up in the pictures. We talked every day for hours, and if we weren’t online, we were texting. Eventually, we decided that after my A-Levels, I would go up to visit. Mum, of course, wasn’t pleased, so wanted to meet her mum online. We both had to sit there on webcam while our mothers talked…mortifying. But it worked. After my exams, I headed up to Scotland and had a lovely week with her. I was definitely in love and was devastated to have to head back. Straight off the plane, we were messaging and then on webcam when I got home. We tried to find another time that I could go up and visit (her family was quite poor, so she didn’t have the money to travel), but no dates worked out. It eventually became apparent that it wasn’t going to work. I was going to uni in September, and she was going to college. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more brokenhearted. I look back on it now as quite a story to tell and that girl really helped me through my A-Levels. Without her, I wouldn’t have gotten my grades to get to uni, so overall, I’m grateful to her and hope wherever she is, she’s doing well.”
—35, England
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/lizmrichardson/people-who-traveled-for-love-stories
