How I met my husband

Hello there,

This is Alex, and I want to write about how I met my husband, Neil.

We met in the summer of 2019 in Denver, Colorado. I was traveling there, and lucky enough, he had recently decided to go back. Still, our meeting was something I could not have anticipated, yet it was the best thing ever to have happened to me.

The beginnings.

By the Spring of 2019, I worked as a Strategy Planning Analyst for a local startup in Colombia. I was growing professionally; however, I was in emotional quicksand, unhappy with my career, and heartbroken, feeling powerless, trapped, and stuck in my feelings. By then, I was toying with the idea of moving overseas, but I was too scared to take a giant leap of faith and follow my dreams.

After a moment of self-realization, I recognized that I could wait for things to turn out the way I wanted, which could take years, or do something, take action, and help myself to feel better. So, I took option B, quit my job, and traveled back to the United States, the first place I visited abroad.

In 2015, right before finishing my undergraduate program, I participated in a Work and Travel experience in Baltimore (MD) that literally changed my life. From that experience, I learned to love myself, gained confidence, and it helped me to understand that being who I am is OK.

In Colombia, we say: You always go back to places where you were genuinely happy, which is why, on June 2019, I decided to come to the US and picked Colorado as my starting point.

Read more about my first international trip.

Late Summer 2019.

I do not know if I should call it destiny, life's plan, or what, but I can think of a better place to have started my travels than Colorado. It took a month to prepare for this adventure, and on July 19th, I landed in Denver. I had planned to enjoy the natural beauty of the mountains, go on hikes and reconnect with my inner adventurous man, but I could have never anticipated that my life would change forever and that I would meet Neil, the love of my life.

We met online, but we clicked so quickly, and it was within the deep woods and high mountains where our love story began; as they say, "online dating never works until it does."

Life had a plan for us, and our paths aligned at the right moment. He had just moved to Denver, so we were both new there. Spending so much time together allowed us to develop a deep understanding of each other and connect deeply. Most importantly, Neil showed me what it is like to feel loved. I could not help falling in love with him.

I never imagined meeting someone as loving, caring, and unique as Neil is. We are both very similar in many aspects, and our differences make our relationship solid and more robust. I have no doubts that he loves me as much as I love him, and we are strong as steal together.

Couples who travel together stay together.

Neil and I dream of traveling the world, and our first trip together (Outside of the United States) was to South East Asia.

They say that couples who travel together are more likely to stay together and feel more connected, and trust me, this is true. Only when you leave your comfort zone can you experience who your partner is, how you react to certain situations, and whether you are suitable for each other.

Check our South East Asia itinerary here.

Once the trip to Asia ended, I returned to Colombia, and Neil followed me. That was the perfect opportunity for him to get to know my culture, my family, and the different aspects that shaped who I am.

The idea of Neil meeting my parents terrified me. They had never accepted any of my partners, and I wanted them to like him. However, Neil is charming, and once my parents got to know him, they loved him.

My mom says: "the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach." And that was the way she expressed her love for Neil. Thus, every day she woke us up with fresh coffee and arepas. For lunch, authentic Colombian homemade meals delighted us. And despite the language barrier, food, smiles, and hugs helped us to communicate our emotions.

Real love is something that needs no translation.

Getting back to the United States.

After everything we had done, living in different countries was unreasonable. Therefore, we navigated the application process in Denver and figured out a viable path for me to return as a student.

I started taking classes at the New America College in Denver. However, just a couple weeks in, the Covid-19 pandemic hit hard in the United States, and we were forced to quarantine and switch to online classes.

Staying-at-home orders were challenging for many couples, but, in our case, it strengthened our relationship. We stayed healthy, created a routine, and worked as a team developed our communication skills. We also found creative ways to keep ourselves busy and discussed our plans for the future.

Our motto is: "Neil and Alex, taking on the world," We would not let the pandemic keep us down. I feel so lucky and blessed that we were in Colorado because we could stay active and enjoy nature while the world was locked down.

The wedding.

During one of our hikes, Neil opened his heart and asked me to stay with him forever. Not wanting to put people at risk, we decided to get married the same way we had been for the past months, just the two of us, up high on the peaks of the Rocky Mountains.

We wanted our ceremony to be symbolic, which is why we decided to go on a hike to commemorate the date. Blue Bird Lake was the place that we picked, a stunning alpine lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Getting there was tiring; the steep ground made the hike strenuous, yet the breathtaking views and the majestic lake were worth it.

Once we got to the lake, Neil made a parallel between our life together and the hike we had just done. When he said it sounded way more poetic LOL, but it was something like this:

Our life is like a hike. It has ups and downs, and sometimes it is not easy. It takes effort and requires both of us to work together toward the same goal, but in the end, it is beautiful and worth it, and I am so glad I can navigate it next to you.

After getting married, we discussed our plans and decided to move to Detroit, Michigan, to be part of the city's ongoing revitalization. We lived there for a couple of years, then moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where we currently reside.