First
Contact
On May 19th, 2023, I randomly decided to DM one of my matches on Dil Mil (an Indian dating app 🤓). I chose the prettiest girl I saw, and of course it was her!
Hi!
Welcome to Nethra and Preetam's Journey Together :)
Made with love by Preetam
First
The First Date!
On June 15th, 2023, we had our "first date" (on Robox LOL). We had been FaceTiming for a few days and we just decided to hop on Roblox and mess around. We even pretended like it was a date 😭, and we had a lotta fun.
The First
~Real~ Date!
On June 30th, we met for the first time in real life! I flew all the way to Chicago to meet her, and we spent the first day checking out her school and the rest of Chicago. It was a completely surreal and unforgettable experience.
Collapsed
Lung
😀
The next day, July 1st, we were in the city again and we decided to check out the Willis Tower. We went to the top of it, and we came back down to enjoy Cheesecake Factory. A pain had been developing in the left side of my chest, and by the time we sat down to eat, it had grown unbearable. I told her I needed to go to the hopsital, and we elected to walk to the nearest one, a childrens hopsital. There, we found out I had a minor collapsed lung, or pneumothorax.
It's Official ‼️
Thankfully, it didn't turn out to be too bad and I was discharged that night. On July 2nd, we went to the mall and had a great time, especially at a Lego store and Nike store. Afterwards, we went to a nearby park, and that's where we decided to make it offical! It was such an unbelievable moment, and it took me months to sink in that a girl like her was my girlfriend.
The Journey
Back
I had to leave July 3rd 🥲. I wasn't able to fly because of the pneumothorax, so I decided to take a Greyhound bus back to Georgia. The passenger next to me ended up just laying down next to me in the seat 😭🙏🏾. The bus ended up breaking down in Indiana for 3 hours and we missed our connecting bus in Louisville, so they just dumped us off there at 2 AM. Thankfully there were family friends that I stayed with until my parents came to pick me up.
South Carolina
On July 21st, Nethra's family happened to be visiting a school for her brother in South Carolina, and I drove over to meet them! There was flash flooding at night on the way back, and I was forced to drive back before the flooding got worse. Fortunately, they happened to have an extra room and I was able to stay the night in the hotel with them!
Matching
Jordans 😋
On August 6th, I returned to Chicago but this time for 2 whole weeks! We decided beforehand to get matching Jordans, and we opened them when I got there! They have been my favorite shoes since.
Tao Chicago
On August 8th, we went to Tao Chicago. It was the first truly fancy restaurant I had been to in my life, and I got to pay for it with the money I made from my internship! The food was some of the best I have had in my life, and I highly recommend it to anyone.
"Cigarettes
After Sex"
Concert
On September 1st, I was back in Chicago for the weekend and we went to a Cigarettes After Sex concert. Personally, I like maybe 2 of their songs and Nethra's a big fan but they took so long to come out and they kinda put both of us to sleep ngl 🫡.
Nethra In
Athens 🥳
On October 24th, Nethra was in Athens for the first time! We went out and had an absolute blast, and I had her try my favorite mocktail!
4 Months :)
On November 3rd, I was back in Chicago and we got to celebrate 4 months together! The decorations she set up were so thoughtful as well as the gifts she gave me. She put so much time and care into it and I was reminded how artistically talented she is :)
Christmas
Time!
As soon was winter break started, I was back in Chicago for a week! On December 8th, we went exploring the city and went to the Christkindl market, which was so cool. During this time, I also interviewed for the internship that I'm doing right now as I build this website. She was definitely my lucky charm, as out of 8 places I interviewed for, this was my only offer! I'm sure she'll get revenge on me for using this picture though 🤭😏
Creed Aventus
??
After our longest time apart ever, I finally made it back to Chicago after what felt like forever. On February 17th, we went shopping and I was absolutely FREEZING in the Brandy Melville line. Thankfully, she showed me mercy and we went to Macy's. Inside, she fell in love with Creed Aventus and really wanted me to get it... and then I told her the price.
Nethra Back In
Athens!
Nethra finally came back to Athens! We had a blast going out again and this time we listened to my favorite album of all time, Under Pressure by Logic, during a road trip to Atlanta. Unsurprisingly, she really liked it 🙄
Nethra Meeting
My Friends!
That same day, it was my friend Sahana's birthday and we all celebrated by staying a night in Atlanta and going out. We ate some really nice food, had a lot of laughs and fun going out, and Nethra and all of my friends got to meet!
Highway
Driving 😵💫
The next day, we drove to Augusta so that Nethra could meet my parents for the first time. She's always been afraid of driving on the highway, so this time I convinced... sorry, forced her to drive to overcome her fear. Since then, she's been driving on the highway to work everyday, so she should really be thanking me 🙄
Augusta Canal
Lock
After we survived her driving, she got to meet my parents! I took her on a tour of Augusta and all the important spots of my childhood, which was really special to me. We then met my best friend Shivum and his girlfriend Shreya, and of course both of them (Nethra and Shreya) were forced to third wheel for a while. Finally, we (me and Nethra this time) made our own little mark in history by putting a lock on the Augusta Canal with our initials. This has been a tradition in Augusta since the 1800's and it felt like I had gone through a rite of passage unique to my childhood community.
Hospital Pt. 2
That next morning, in a bid to impress Nethra with her nutritious cooking, my mom decided to make us both healthy smoothies. Unbeknownst to me, she also included tree nuts in them! (My mom has always chosen to not believe in my allergies). At the same time, I was already having chest pain due to my pollen allergies. So while dropping Nethra off to the airport, the pain became unbearable and we had to drive to the ER. There, my chest pain was taken care of and the nut allergies kicked in! My entire body was covered in hives and my mom cried a lot but I turned out fine. My dad drove us to the airport and Nethra took care of me in the back with so much love :)
Staying With
Her Parents
Soon after my birthday, and soon before hers, I got to spend a weekend in Chicago at her house with her and her parents. It was fun, but also really nervewracking. In the end, they were really nice, made me some great food and even bought me a suit for my birthday! One of my favorite parts was getting to see her dog Elio again :)
Cape Cod
On May 26th, soon after I began my internship, Nethra's family came to visit her brother in Massachusetts, coincidentally where I'm living now. They agreed to meeting me as well, which was really nice. Their rental car ended up dying and we had to jumpstart it with some strangers' cables, but it all worked out in the end.
Car Show ‼️
In my last visit to Chicago, we went to a car show! It was genuinely insane, and we saw a McLaren Sabre, which was 1 of 15 and 3.8 MILLION dollars. We also saw two SF90's, one of my dream cars and the one I'm standing next to. I can't wait to add more to this website!