Words by: Samuel White 
Art by:  Steph Bridges

I met my love in Rome just over a year ago, halfway through my exchange. 

I was sitting on a bridge over the River Tiber and listening to some blokes playing jazz when a stunningly cute girl rushed up and took my picture. She wanted to send me the photo, so we excitedly exchanged Instagrams, had a quick chat and then she disappeared back into the crowd just seconds later. But I was starstruck and just couldn´t let it end on that bridge. So with a bit of online sweet-talking from both parties, we were off gallivanting under the Mediterranean summer sun, and to this day, we have not let each other go! 

However, we’ve run into a problem…

My love is far away.

About 17,300 kilometres, an eight-hour time difference, a 24-hour flight and one whole language away, to be exact. There is definitely a physical distance between us, yet does this distance have anything to do with our love?

Since my Mediterranean summer, I have seen her twice and we have been physically together for a total of four weeks over the course of 10 months. Despite the distance, these have been 10 full months of love, tangible closeness, dreams, days and stories shared. So, what drives our trans-hemispherical embrace?

I will not lie, there have been tears, tired hearts and tirades about our distance. However, we share three things that make this defiance possible: 

1. A recognition that this connection we share is world-altering.
2. A decision that our love is worth defying the difficulties, the heartache, the loneliness and our yearnings.
3. The choice to share our pain, letting our hearts cry together, not apart.

Love is an emotion, but it’s also, as Jose Gonzales puts it, “a verb, a doing word.” The actions of love may not feel like the emotions of love; they may make you tired or they may force you to make sacrifices. But those actions engender a transcendental degree of emotional closeness. Despite our distance, we make choices to do the hard things for one another, and the intensity of those choices translates into that oh-so-lovely trans-hemispherical embrace.

Long distance isn’t easy, but as long as you both choose to love, dream and suffer together, it’s easy to defy.

Yo solo estoy para ti mi amor, te quiero. (I am only for you my love, I love you.)

Lend me a heartstring.  Distance tears a heartstringIn both you and I.So we will graft thoseTorn strings togetherUntil you and I share a scarred and shining soul.

Préstame un cordón del corazón. La distancia desgarra un cordónTanto en ti como en mí.Así que coseremos juntosEsos cordones desgarradosHasta que tú y yo compartamos un alma cicatrizada ybrillante.