We met through mutual friends in 2012, and officially began dating on November 26th of the same year. We tried to see each other as much as possible, but as high schoolers living in different states, that was not very often. We bonded over of our mutual love of dumb jokes, nature, and being silly.

We ended up going to college together from Fall 2014 through Spring 2018, where our relationship grew stronger due to the time spent together and the difficulties overcame. We went through the normal growing pains of young adults trying to find their own identities, but at the same time grew closer with shared passions (video games, traveling, and still stupid humor).

Post college, we lived together at Andrew's parents while he was in graduate school. Again, there were growing pains as both of us entered the "adult" portions of our lives. Andrew was discovering graduate school was not for him, while Bri was dealing with the struggles of a being a new teacher. We learned how to support each other, while also learning how to accept support when needed. The relationship grew more serious when Andrew graduated with his Master's in early 2020, and got his first job. Shortly after, Bri and Andrew moved out into their first apartment and adopted two kittens (some may say the kittens adopted us).

We lived in that apartment for 3 years while we solidified our adult friend group, weathered a pandemic, and grew in our careers. Andrew proposed to Bri in that apartment in September 2022. He had purchased the ring 2 weeks prior, and one night after a few a drinks, he couldn't hold in the surprise anymore (which people should not be surprised about). Shortly after we traveled in Germany and Prague for two weeks, enjoying one last trip before a big life change.

We purchased our house in May of 2023, and have continued maturing and becoming more of "adults", in whatever sense you want to interpret that. Since then, we have been enjoying life by hanging out with friends, playing board games, and cuddling with our cats.

Young love burns brightest,

Sweaty hands and nervous laughs,

Form the foundation.

Slowly maturing,

Late nights and early mornings,

Build initial walls.

Young adults struggle,

Respect and empathy grow,

Providing a roof.

Mature love blossoms,

Quiet happiness sets in,

Furnishing the home.