Cole and I met my senior year and Cole’s junior year of college at Delta State University (Pictured above: Ally and Cole in 2020). I had recently moved out of my apartment on Caperton Lane and into another apartment in Cleveland. I don’t remember how it came up in conversation, but my dad told me one of his golf buddies had two sons that were moving into my old apartment. I was visiting a friend a few houses down on that street, and met Cole through other mutual friends. After that, we built a friend group and somehow always ended up together, especially when Covid hit. We would all get together at my house, go out to eat, ride around Cleveland daily blaring music, and go to formals & greek events. We all eventually graduated and moved to different towns, but still staying in touch every now and then. In September 2023, Delta State was having their annual event called Pig Pickin. Students and alumni usually get together during this weekend for the football game, greek events, and tailgating. My parents suggested that we all go, so I reached out to Cole to see if he was going. When he told me he would be there, we decided to meet and catch up while we were both there again. After that weekend, he asked to visit me in Oxford, so I invited him to the Grove for his first Ole Miss football game and tailgating experience. We continued to see each other almost every weekend after that. The 2.5 hour road trip from Oxford to Greenville, only seeing each other for the weekend, was not the most ideal situation, but as my meme always said, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”. And it definitely did, because you could not separate us for even one weekend! We got to know each other’s families and friends, went on vacations together, celebrated holidays, spent many hours on the golf course, adopted our sweet puppy, Goose, (Maverick’s best friend) and so much more. We dated for 7 months before he proposed in the Grove, our first “official” date. I thought we were there for another friend’s proposal, but that quickly turned into our engagement celebration with all of our friends and family. I could not have asked for a better day, and we truly cannot wait to continue our story, celebrate with our loved ones, and spend forever together!