I went through an incredibly toxic and abusive relationship in 2018, so I decided to focus on myself and keep myself busy to work on my self-confidence. I was a professional bowler during college, I had fantastic grades, and I felt like I had my life together, besides when I would look in the mirror and see a distorted, ugly figure of a broken girl. A few months later, after a lot of therapy and spa visits, I finally healed. My confidence was back, and I felt on top of the world. I decided to book myself a flight to Orlando with my closest girlfriends at the time and enjoy the time away from the cold New Jersey weather. While I was in Florida, I stayed at a resort close to Disney World. Two days into the trip, on January 8th, I went to the bar with my best friend. About three buckets later, we decided to head back to our room by a shuttle. I took a seat diagonally across two guys that looked my age, and they kept speaking in an accent I've never heard. It wasn't British, wasn't Scottish either.

I asked, "Where are you from?"

The rest is history.

After talking the entire night, and into the following day, I fell completely head-over-heels for a guy that lived in South Africa. As expected, he caught feelings too. We started dating that day. After a few days, he went back home to South Africa. I cried in my Florida bedroom the entire day... I kept thinking, why am I crying? I've never cried over someone before. I fell in love, completely in love, and he lives across the world from me. We didn't lose communication for months, and for once in my life I felt genuinely happy.

In August 2019, I booked myself a ticket and flew to South Africa. I took the NJTransit bus 2 hours into New York, then another 1 hour commute to JFK. My heart was racing, I've never been so excited and so overwhelmed with emotion in my life. I took a 14 hour flight from New York to Johannesburg. I landed, and there he was, just waiting for me by Arrivals. My heart felt like it was going to explode, and I immediately starting crying, crying absolute happiness. We spent about 10 days together, and it felt like time stopped completely. I started dating this guy the day that I met him, and I've never felt so much love and joy before.

Here we are at the Kruger National Park in SA!Instagram: lyssway

I flew back to JFK a little over a week later, and I don't think I've ever seen a guy cry over a woman so much other than in movies. It broke my heart, I finally found someone that cares for me as much I care for him. We went about four months 8,000 miles apart until he surprised me with another plane ticket for our anniversary. This time, the trip was for a month. December came, and I got on a flight again to JNB. It was the most magical, love-filled trip I've ever experienced the entire 34 days I spent with him.

8,000 Miles Has Nothing On Us!IG: lyssway

To everyone out there, please know that soulmates come when least expected, and it's the most incredible feeling in the world. There's a soulmate out there for everyone: some might be your neighbor, some might be 8,000+ miles away like mine. Just remember, no matter how far, it's always worth it when the love is real. To those in long distance relationships, the one thing I've learned is always communicate, and never miss a chance to tell them how much you love them. It's the little things in long distance relationships that can mean so much.

<3

Alyssa