For the month of February, IOL is inviting our readers to tell us who they love and why to stand a chance of winning amazing prizes in our #MyHeart competition.
Our next winner is Faziela Harris , who submitted the following entry:
I was actually reading the news when I came across this competition and felt to share my story because hey, I think its good to know that real love stories exist.
At 19 years old in 2007, I was in my first year doing Civil Engineering at CPUT. After having my heart broken many times, I gave up on the whole premise and decided to focus on my career instead.
Just before the June holidays that year, my bestie was scrolling through pictures and I recognised a guy that was in my class in primary school. He joked that he would hook us up and I laughed it off.
That holidays I got a phone call from my bestie saying he had seen this guy and got his number for me. Being curious, I called and had probably the most awkward conversation ever. We ended up texting occasionally, to texting daily, fast forward to December we decided to meet up as he was having some friends over at his place. I took along my bestie as I was super shy. The night was okayish as we hardly could talk since there were so many of his friends there and I was super exhausted from uni and coming off a shift at work.
To me the night was a disaster. I realised that he was a super jock and I was just some geek, who clearly was not the social butterfly that he was.
We then scheduled a coffee date with just us at the waterfront, which was really chilled and then another date for ice cream at Camps Bay, this is when he asked me to be his girlfriend. My reaction? I laughed and asked if he was joking. *insert facepalm
* I retracted when I realised he was serious and our journey really started from there. Turns out he was just as big a geek as I was, and that he was really just a chill guy.
What makes our story amazing? I started at a new primary school in Grade 3, when I walked into class I was super nervous, he remembers that, down onto the fact that my hair was in a plait and I was wearing glasses that made me look like Matilda. Every year, from Grade 3 till Grade 6, in each class photo, we were standing next to each other, not knowing that we would end up together.
After we got married, my mother-in-law was clearing out closets when she showed me a picture she had taken of him at a school prize-giving, guess who stood next him….ME.
Fast forward to my dad taking out pictures to show my new sister-in-law. He came across a picture of me proudly holding up my award with someone walking into the frame. Who was that person you ask? That person was my now husband.
We started dating in 2008, got engaged in 2011, married in 2012, had our firstborn in 2014, lost our princess through miscarriage in 2015, and had our youngest in 2016. Eleven years later and this man is my teammate, my life partner and my best friend.
There is so much more to the story but I think I’m running out of words.
How to enter our #MyHeart competition:
Tell us who you love and why. The IOL team is passionate about news for the heart of South Africa and we want to hear about who holds your heart. Whether it's the love of your life, your BFF, your cat, your mom, your boss or your second-removed cousin on your grandmother's side, we want to know why you appreciate them so much.
If you are our pick for the best story of the day, you will win one of our amazing prizes and be entered into our grand prize draw sponsored by Protea Hotels by Marriott.
Whether it's an urban escape, going off the beaten track or a romantic seaside soiree you’re after, Protea Hotels by Marriott has just what you're looking for. Visit protea.marriott.com/valentines-day for some unbelievable couple's experiences and imagine the possibilities this Valentine’s month.
So send an email to iolcompetitions@inl.co.za telling us your #MyHeart story.
You can also DM us on Facebook or Twitter.
Or download our app on Android or IOS and use our MOJO feature to send us your entry.
TIP: The more words the better, and if you have pics and videos, you can send that too.
The competition runs from February 1 to 28.
Winners will be notified by March 1.
Winners will be notified by email or phone, so please send us your contact details with your entry.
Competition Rules:
Selected story entries, pictures and videos will be published on iol.co.za and our social media pages. The winners' names will be published on our website and social media pages.
Your privacy is important to us. When you enter a competition with us, we ask for your name, email address and mobile number. We use email addresses to notify winners to let them know they have won a prize. We use the mobile numbers provided in order to contact the winner and for prize delivery.
The competition is only open to people residing in South Africa.
Employees of Independent Media, the sponsors & their agents, or any company associated with the competition & their immediate families are not eligible to enter. • Prizes are not redeemable for cash. • The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. • Receipt of entries will not be acknowledged. • The entrant accepts that entry to the competition does not constitute a contract or any form of legal commitment between the entrant and IOL.