Matt and I first met in 2008 at Olentangy Liberty High School when my older sister, Taylor, introduced us. Taylor and Matt were in the same Spanish class and bonded over their lack of Spanish-speaking skills, which was good for me because soon after, Taylor introduced us. At the time I was only a sophomore and Matt was a senior, so naturally, I was drawn to his upperclassman mentality — and even more so after I found out that he could play almost any John Mayor song and the iconic “Fireflies” song by Owl City.
Matt and I never dated in high school but we did share our life aspirations with each other; Matt wanting to become an Optometrist and myself wanting to pursue a career in childcare. Eventually, Matt went off to college, as did I, and although we both ended up at The Ohio State University, we only hung out a couple of times.
In 2013, Matt moved on to Boston and attended New England College of Optometry where he began to pursue his career as an Optometrist. Meanwhile, I graduated in 2015 and went to Texas to start my career in childcare. Both in separate states, chasing ours passions, we still would manage to reconnect every few months to see how each other was doing. It wasn’t until one message came through that changed our lives forever.
I’ll let Matt tell the rest…
Sydney and I remained friends over the years, often reaching to each other with years in-between. Never an awkward moment, our conversations would pick up, almost seamlessly, right where they had left off.
But it was on October 1st, 2018, when Sydney and I reconnected again. But neither of us knew, or had any awareness of what was to follow. At the time, I was in a transition, moving from Saginaw, Michigan to Virginia Beach, Virginia — and Sydney in Austin, Texas.
We both were thousands of miles away, but our conversations brought us close. For the next 3 months, Sydney and I exchanged phone calls and texts where we quickly realized there was something deeper than just a friendship. The discussions often brought flashbacks to their early years, all their sleepless nights and moments together.
Once I found out that Sydney was celebrating New Year’s in New York, I rebooked my ticket from Ohio to New York so that we could reconnect in person! And after that trip, I knew that there was no way I could live without Sydney. On May 15, 2019, I left my job in Virginia Beach, bought a house in Cape Cod, MA , and moved to be with Sydney and her dog, Ausland.
Sydney and I continue to cultivate a lifelong love for each other that begin almost 15 years ago. We could not be more excited to celebrate with all of our friends and family as we start a new chapter in our lives and continue our story that began so long ago!