If you don’t know these two cuties, Reid and Alex having been dating for two years. Both in Commerce, they met through one of the program’s many clubs. Funnily enough, the couple’s first memories and impressions of each other vary quite a bit… Reid remembers noticing Alex in class and being immediately intrigued. However, Alex’s first memories of Reid tell a slightly different tale:
Alex: “I was eating with my friends in 1styear and he came over to say hi to the people I was sitting with and completely ignored me! I was intimidated and put off… but also low-key thought he was cute.”
The pair didn’t talk until they found out that they were in the same club (Queen’s Commerce Service Initiative) together. Reid remembers Alex as being quiet, but really cool. According to Reid, the first time they really connected was at a party.
Reid: “She was kind of quiet and kept to herself, but once we had a few beverages together, the conversation really started to flow. We got to talking and found out we had a lot of the same interests.”
Alex, once again, told a bit of a different story:
Alex: “I thought I was friend-zoned for like three months, we would talk a lot but he was still talking to other girls and telling me about them.”
Reid: “I guess I didn’t play that right.” *Laughs*
Despite some misunderstandings, the stars finally aligned. The couple had their first kiss on the front porch at a house party. Reid, trying to be charming, began by referencing How I Met Your Mother. He told Alex he felt like a character from the show, hoping she would guess Ted (the romantic). Turns out, the message was not quite delivered:
Alex: “I thought he was referencing Barney (he was promiscuous little sh*t) and he was like ‘No, Ted, cause I like this girl!’ and me, being oblivious, was like ‘Oh which girl?”
Despite this comical start, the couple is still going strong. With Reid hailing form Medicine Hat, Alberta, and Alex being from Toronto, distance has been a significant challenge in their relationship, but they have managed to work through it.
One thing that has helped them through this struggle is their commitment to being with each other. The summer following second year was their first chance testing distance. After one month they were missing each other a lot and Alex was struggling to find a job. Reid, knowing her struggles, gave her a call one day and suggested she visit him in Alberta. He knew Medicine Hat had a lot of job openings and didn’t want to have the spend the whole summer apart. Alex took him up on the offer immediately:
Reid: “When she called me and told me she was coming, I asked her how long, thinking it would be a couple of weeks…then she told me it was for the rest of the summer!”
As fate would have it, Alex found a job almost immediately and settled into life in Medicine Hat. The couple looks back on that time fondly, a smile brimming on their faces as they remembered the many summer nights spent cuddling on the back deck underneath the stars, eating gummy worms and listening to classical music.
Alex: “The best memories are not always the big romantic gestures, sometimes it’s the little things.”
Of course, the couple also has their fair share of big romantic gestures. One of the most notable ones was last year when Alex booked a surprise trip to Rome for Reid. Alex was on exchange in Portugal and Reid had planned to come and visit her, not knowing of her alternate travel plans for them. She managed to book the entire trip without him noticing:
Alex: “He was so oblivious when I asked him for his passport information…he totally didn’t even clue in.”
The surprise went off without a hitch and the couple spent a blissful vacation in Rome together.
However, Alex is not the only one who has pulled off a big surprise. Reid, missing Alex again, booked a surprise second trip to Portugal (against the advice of his parents, I might add):
Reid: “My parents told me absolutely not to do this, under any circumstances, but I did it anyway.”
Now that these two are both back in Kingston, the couple simply enjoys the opportunity to spend time together. They love a cozy night in, making cookies and drinking hot chocolate, cuddling and watching Alex’s favorite Christmas movie, Elf. They also like to take walks together (only up to certain distance, though):
Alex: “Reid does not like long walks, nothing over 1500 steps. We reach 1600 steps and he’s like ‘oh, got to stop.’”
When asked what advice they would give to readers, their first thoughts were on tackling distance. After spending summer and exchange apart, you could say that they pretty good at it:
Alex: “Distance is not something you have to overcome, but rather something you deal with; it is important that long distance has an end.”
Reid “Don’t try to force yourself into a relationship. It will come if it is meant to be.”
Both add that it is important to have patience, admit when you’re wrong and make an effort to spend genuine time together.
- Love, Human Crossing
p.s. If you are interested in learning more about how other Queen's alumni are doing...check out our friends at The Limestone Era. (They even feature the iconic Professor D. J. McConomy!)