06.06.2020

Although we grew up only 400 miles apart, we met over 4,000 miles from home. It was Summer 2014; the culmination of the summer was to take place in Lithuania at the 2014 Lithuanian folk dancing festival. Aleksa and Tomas were traveling with their respective dance groups, "Svyturys" and "Spindulys." With dozens of mutual friends also traveling to Lithuania, it was impossible for us not to meet. The preparation for the festival consisted of a week's worth of day long rehearsals. During one of the rehearsals, Tomas spotted Aleksa and was quickly enticed. Tomas immediately ran to his friend Aras to inquire as to who this mystery woman was. After learning her name, it took a nervous Tomas 4 days and the encouragement of multiple friends to finally talk to her. During a dance festival after party, our mutual friend Mantas formally introduced us. We said “hi,” shook hands, and then Aleksa quickly and uncomfortably walked away. Our next interaction was a little more romantic. We found ourselves at the same party and then danced the night away. After that night, we kept in close contact and spent a lot of time together in Lithuania. Days in Lithuania quickly flew by, and soon it was time for Tomas to return home. Aleksa was staying in Lithuania a month longer for an internship. When Tomas returned home, we battled the 8 hr time difference to keep in touch.

At the completion of her internship, Aleksa returned home to Cleveland; it was time to get back to reality after a surreal summer. Classes were starting in a few weeks, and Aleksa assumed the summer fling was coming to an end. But Tomas had a different plan. The weekend after Aleksa came home, Tomas traveled to Cleveland to visit her. It quickly became clear to us that we were more than just a summer fling. Before leaving Cleveland, we said our sad goodbyes, as it wasn’t clear when we would see each other again. Then it was Aleksa’s turn to take the leap, as she secretly took a bus from Penn State to Chicago to visit Tomas over Labor Day weekend. And so, the long distance relationship started. Fast forward a few years through thousands of miles traveled and special weekends together, we graduated college not sure what would happen next. Things took a positive turn, however, when Aleksa accepted a job in the Chicago suburbs. We were finally in the same city, and after dozens of trips, workouts, hikes, bike rides, and Thai meals, it was clear our relationship was only going in one direction.

On June 9, 2019 Aleksa completed a Half Ironman Triathlon in Madison, WI. Later that night, Tomas proposed on the shores of Lake Mendota. As we enjoy our engagement, we are planning for our future and are excited for the path we will get to share together.