Age: Day 6,653 of my life [18 Years Old]
Date: 7 June 2007
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
Category: Romantic Moments
People Involved: Yolanda

Three weeks before I graduated from high school, I started dating a girl.  Her name was Yolanda.  We had stared in a play together in April of 2007.  As the play ended, we remained friends.  I ended up taking her to my Senior Prom (she was a junior at the time).  The following Monday, I asked her out.  She said yes.  As I finished out my final year of high school, I was on cloud nine.

There was a catch.  I asked her out four weeks before I was scheduled to leave for a month-long trip to Europe.  In those four weeks, we experienced the beautiful honeymoon part of the relationship.  We made out, spent every moment together, and got to know each other’s families.  So, as the date of my departure got closer, I realized I was going to miss her a lot.  I ended up putting together a goodbye package for her.  On the back of the note, in tiny letters, I wrote the words, “I think I’m falling for you.”

I had no idea how true that was.  I ended up writing her a postcard every day of my month-long trip.  I spent a great deal of my time thinking about her as I experienced London, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Paris.  This moment, takes place in Frankfurt.  I had no real intention of staying in Frankfurt.  I had left London earlier that day with the intention of taking the overnight train to Vienna, Austria.  I ended up getting stuck in Frankfurt for a few hours.  The picture above was taken from front the entrance of the train station.  I didn’t go any further than that.  Instead, I had a panic attack.  The city looked frightening to me.  It was dirty and run down.  I was honestly scared.

Although I do regret not exploring the city for those few hours, I do not regret what happened.  I remember sitting around, people watching, trying out some food, and reading while I waited for the train.  In the end, as the time for departure neared, I walked out to the platform that the train would be arriving on soon.  I couldn’t stop thinking about Yolanda.  I can still picture the moment perfectly in my mind.

I remember sitting on the bench, waiting.  My mind started to wander.  Where is she?  What is she doing right now?  I tried to imagine it.  As I sat there in a daydream, I felt it.  Some 6,000 miles away from her…and I realized I was in love.  It came over me like a rainstorm.  One moment I heard the thunder.  The next moment I was soaked to the bone.  I was in love.

I wrote a postcard to her while I waited.  It was the only one I never sent.  I told her how I felt.  I didn’t send it because I knew it was too early on in the relationship to tell her that I was in love with her.  A year later, when our relationship entered the awkward “on-again off-again” phase, I showed her the postcard.  She was pretty surprised.  I’ve been in love four times in my life.  They have all come on in different ways and strengths. ..but that is by far the fastest that I have ever fallen.

Currently on Day One: Love in Frankfurt
Day Two: Kicked Out of a Bar