My cousin Mackenzie was relentless about getting me on the dating apps—especially since that’s how she met her husband. I resisted for a long time, but she wouldn’t let it go (and if you know Kenzie, you know it's not possible for her to let anything go).

Eventually, she took matters into her own hands and created a profile for me… with the help of my sister and two other cousins (yes, it was a full team effort). OH and they set the radius to 50 miles.

For a couple of weeks, Mackenzie, her husband, and the rest of the team took turns swiping on Hinge to “build my algorithm”—and I didn’t even have access to the account yet!

Fast forward a few weeks—by then, they didn’t have access anymore, and I finally did. I was on a ski trip with some friends and was one of only four single people there. When I got home that Sunday, I was feeling extra single, so I opened the app, matched with Austin, and—well—the rest is history. :)

I had been at the academy in Georgia and knew I was heading to one of the New York offices. I was moving somewhere completely new, where I didn’t know anyone. While I’d be closer to family, I didn’t have any friends or connections in the New York area.

When I saw Meghan’s profile on Hinge, I was instantly drawn to the photo of her with a camel and the fact that her go-to meal was mac and cheese (and honestly, it's been pretty close to that ever since). At that time, I didn’t realize how far Hoboken actually was.

After meeting her for the first time, that 30 miles didn’t feel so far anymore. Before long, I found myself driving from Long Beach to Queens, back to Long Beach to swap cars, then up to Hoboken to spend the night with Meghan—just to do it all over again the next day.

Now, I get to come home to her every day—no more car swaps or long drives (just some Belt Parkway traffic).