So there it was, August 30, 2022, and we had our first conversation via Hinge, which is the Walmart version of Tinder. We hit it off pretty quickly and decided to go on a date. That date happened September 7 at a Mexican place close to my apartment named La Hacienda. That went about as well as could be expected, so I decided to invite Amanda back to my apartment to get to know her more, much to the dismay of my future in-laws. It was in my apartment that I asked Amanda to be my girlfriend and kick off our wonderful relationship.

With Amanda growing up in Indy I got to meet a lot of family members quickly, but that was the complete opposite with me since my family and friends live on all corners of the globe (or at least that's what it feels like sometimes). Amanda also brought home Bean very soon after our relationship started which concerned me as I have a dog allergy. Not anymore.

We've since had many adventures together. We officially moved in together in May 2023 when we rented this awful house on the south side of Indianapolis. This came after I unofficially lived in her apartment for several months. It was at this awful rental that I proposed to Amanda in our backyard surrounded by my college best friends Alex and Alivia and their significant others Christian and Pat.

After too many months in that rental house and many frustrations later with the property company, we decided to buy our forever home in Center Grove in February 2024, where we live today. It feels like our relationship has had many chapters already, but I know that a vast majority of our story still remains to be written.

On August 30th, 2022, Nick responded to a prompt I wrote on Hinge about my irrational fear saying, " I thought this when I killed a wasp once." This short sentence led to multiple conversations about movies, careers, families and very sarcastic comments. Some of those comments from Nick include, "Girl, Ur skin so pale that u make Casper look tan" and "So ur a psycho that puts creamer in their coffee". Eventually Nick asked me on a date. I ended up meeting Nick at a Mexican restaurant called La Hacienda. Somehow, I ended up agreeing to be Nick's girlfriend even after he bullied me.

Once I told my parents and family about Nick and I dating, it was only a matter of time before they met. Poor Nick, he had to meet my mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, and cousins on the same day. Luckily, he survived that meeting and still wanted to be a part of my life. Shortly after this, Nick left for a work trip. This of course, meant I was left unsupervised... so I did what any young animal lover would do. I adopted our dog, Bean, from a shelter. It was only after I adopted him that Nick told me he was possibly allergic to dogs. When Nick and Bean first met, it was love at first sight. Nick slowly became a dog person!

We both decided to find a rental home to see if we could live with each other. Nick invited his friends over for dinner and a bonfire to celebrate the new home. It was there that Nick proposed to me in the backyard by the fire pit. Thankfully Nick followed the most important rule when proposing, always make sure the girl has her nails done!

A couple months later, we had problems with our rental company. This prompted us to start looking for a new home. We bought a home in Center Grove. This will be the home in which the story of the rest of our lives begins. I couldn't be more thankful and excited to spend the rest of my life with my soulmate!