How I Met My Boyfriend

It all started with a snotty tissue. He took me by surprise, as these things often do, leaving me in a wake of memories from an afternoon that ended too soon. But before I tell you this tale, of how I met my boyfriend, let me take you back to the beginning of the week when I had no idea my life was about to change forever.

Compared to previous weeks I've had in London, this one started and ended rather uneventfully. I stayed home every night, curled up on my bed reading and watching TV. I ate one too many chocolate cookies and enough rice to feed a small village. It was much needed. My life has been in constant motion since arriving and although it has been fun, I needed some relaxation.

You may be wondering how I could meet someone from the confines of big-bed, having shut the world out each night, entering the lives of Katey Kontent, Meredith Grey, Alicia Florrick and Ted Mosby. But the world is funny that way. You often don't have to go too far to find someone who can change your life.

I woke up early on Saturday and took a train to Oxford. I was tired but pressed on knowing the day would be worth it. I just had a feeling. When I got to the station I hopped into a taxi and got dropped off at Oxford Academy. It was overcast, the sky threatening to open up, reminding us all that we can be caught in a rainstorm at any moment. I was there as a volunteer for the Whizz-Kidz Ambassador Club where young people get to spend the day, participating in fun activities and it gives them a change to meet others who have disabilities as well. It was on this Saturday, in Oxford, that I met him.

Like me, it was his first time at an Ambassadors Club. When he first came in he was nervous and shy unlike most of the other young people who had become friends years earlier, picking up right where they left off, fighting like siblings. His quiet demeanor quickly vanished when we formed a circle to introduce ourselves and catch up on what had happened in everyone's lives since the last meeting. Besides myself, there was one other volunteer, two nurses, the group leader and seven young people. I quickly learned who the outgoing ones were and who kept to themselves. Most had cerebral palsy, confined to wheelchairs but unwilling to let that hold them back. Their openness about their disability and the affect it has on their lives was both moving and heartbreaking.

It was in the circle, as I leant him a tissue for his runny nose, that I learned his name was Hamzah. He turned out to be the furthest thing from shy, cutting off the others when they were sharing because he remembered something else he wanted to tell us. Although everyone was getting frustrated with him, the stories he shared were raw and honest. He told us about his family and an older brother who died too young from a disease he couldn't beat. He talked about how his dad doesn't understand his disability and how he is homeschooled by his mother and step-dad. He has been through a lot and is only eleven.

I say Hamzah became my boyfriend but clearly not in the traditional sense. Although we will never see each other again, his friendship that day and willingness to share his story was something I will remember for a long time. He is smart and knows more about American current events than I do. He loves Animal Planet and his mom teaches him about American history. He is fascinated by it all and wants to live in the US one day. I hope he can make that happen. It was so refreshing to see how this boy could be so kind and open with me, someone he just met.

Although Hamzah and I bonded and spent most of the day talking in between activities, the other young people were just as inspiring. One in particular, Aidan, has an amazing voice and sang 22 by Taylor Swift in front of the whole group. It was beautiful. He sang it better than Taylor...yes, I just said that!

I am so glad I got to go to one of the Ambassador Clubs and meet some of the young people everyone in the head office works so hard to help. After the club I walked around Oxford before catching my train home. It was a nice little town and reminded me a lot of New England.

Although a quiet week, it was a memorable one and I have Whizz-Kidz to thank for that.

XX.