Long-distance was already my reality, so distance filters actually mattered to me. It reached the point where my mother stopped asking, which honestly stung. Even my plants got more meaningful responses than I did, and they can't even talk. My half-marathon training buddy encouraged me to meet European women and the whole experience restored my faith in online dating. We'll see where the story goes, but for once I'm genuinely optimistic. I came out the other side a believer, which I truly did not expect to write.