Spring-2003. Me, a romantic 19-y.o. green-gray-eyed student of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (where I was studying to become an English and German languages interpreter), end another huge chapter of one of my textbooks. I put it aside, deciding to have some rest. I check one of the then-popular social networks (it was way before Instagram). Amongst the standard rubbish messages, I see a cute one and click on the profile of a sender. And I see him – Vlad, olive-eyed man, whom I’ve immediately found attractive because of his masculine appearance. Now I can tell he isn’t shy (as I thought initially) – on the contrary, he’s too self-assured at times.
I wrote him back and the messaging we’ve started soon led to the desire to meet in person. Vlad was born in one of the small Ukrainian towns and he came to Kharkiv almost accidentally: looking for happiness and earnings. Our first meeting was bedazzling if I can tell so about the love from the first sight. Vladislav turned out a bit shorter than I thought him to be (there was no ‘height’ information in the profile), just 5 feet and 6.5 inches tall. But that is such a mere nothing! For me, it seems so weird that some females accentuate on appearance, bulky muscles, or a haircut like young Justin Bieber although these all are so secondary things! Actually, the center of attention shall include human qualities: strivings, dreams, desires, kindness, persistence, and the ability to achieve goals. And the basis for a family life shall be the ‘zing’ of the chemistry that you feel once you throw a look at a person for the first time. For me, the ‘zing’ with Vlad has defined my entire life – 17 years have passed since then!