At the risk of sounding cliched, help!

[EKDS5k]

Hi there. I've been poking around these boards for the past few days, trying to see if there's anyone else in my position. Apparently, there's not. Anyway....

Last weekend, I was introduced to this girl over the internet (guess where this is going...), and we started to talk....all night. Anyway, the next day, I was talking to her again, and now we're in an online relationship. Now, I find myself with all these feelings for her, like I've maybe felt this way about one or two people before....

Now, there's a few problems with this....

1) I'm not sure if she feels the same way, or if she's just treating it as an online-only relationship.

2) There's the problem of distance....I live in Edmonton, Alberta, and she lives Virginia. That's almost all the way across the continent! Add to that the fact that I'm a poor student, and my chances of ever actually meeting her are slim indeed.

So, I'd really like to meet her, and really get to know her better, but I don't know if this has even the remote possibility of going beyond the internet, and into the real world.

Am I reaching at nothing here, or what?

.....

I hope that made sense....*makes mental note not to try and type up serious things at 1 in the morning*

[Kaisharga]

I'd say that there's a possibility that this could indeed develop further--it may need time, though. I know how it is with students, being one myself, and transportational availability can be difficult. If you guys get really tight, as the kids say, I'd say it's not terribly unlikely that you two will meet, face-to-face style, within a year or two.

An additional variable I just now thought of: How have you two expressed your affections for eachother online? Sending eachother pictures? Ecards? "I Love You's?" Actual physical mail? There's a whole lotta steps in there, just as there are in a fleshworld-based relationship. (Ooh, I don't know if i should feel dirty after using a word like 'fleshworld.' Maybe 'meatspace.' No, that's no better...)

One good way to find out 'where you stand,' as they say, is just to come out and ask. Not bluntly, not aggressively, not accusingly--just, oh, i was curious, I've known you for a long time, I wonder sometimes just how much we mean to eachother, you mean a lot to me...that sort of thing. I'm sure you have your own style, though, and probably a lot cooler than me, hehe.

And, as for that bad-student thing, I'd say that's not especially likely to matter in terms of how she feels about you. It might make the getting-together thing a little more difficult, though, but that's about all.

Best of luck to yas.

--Kaisharga

[EKDS5k]

Heh, what I meant by poor student was that I have no money. I attend University, and I live away from home, so money's a little tight. It's not the problem of meeting, it's the problem of not being able to afford it. I COULD get a plane ticket to Virginia, but I'd have no money left for important things, like rent, food, etc.

And the way we've been expressing affection for each other...well, we talk over AIM, and that usually leads to roleplaying (not as in we take on different persona, but we type out what we would be doing), and we just go from there. We haven't sent pictures yet (I don't have a digital camera, or a scanner, and I'm not sure what she has), though the thought has come up.

Anyway, thanks for your advice, and I'm going to bed now, as I'm falling asleep while I type (also, that would explain any typos, though I think I got 'em all).