We were just kids when it all started- from having Spanish class together my junior year and her thinking I’m a kiss ass to the teacher (I wasn’t, but she’ll say I was) to me sliding into her instagram DM'S and then being too nervous to do anything after that. Fast forward about a year or so later and I think I’m going to the gym with a buddy of mine and we show up at his girlfriend's house and there she is, Anna sitting on the couch, we were set up on a blind date type ordeal to make us actually talk to each other. Shortly after that we started texting each other every day and every single night into the late hours. I would leave cute notes in her locker (even if I was scared to talk to a pretty lady like her at school while we shared the same lunch period). I remember shakily asking her to be my girlfriend after months (oops) of talking and fearing rejection thinking she was out of my league. She happily said yes with the biggest grin on her face.

As the months went by we began to develop a deep love and caring relationship with each other and as time passed it only got deeper and deeper. From me waiting for what Anna calls “an ungodly” amount of time to tell her I love her to continue that bond for years. We were just young dumb and in complete love with each other as kids.

In 2020 we needed to go our separate ways to do some growing up and to focus on ourselves. In 2024 our paths crossed once again. This time it was different, but it felt the same as it did years ago when we were so madly in love with each other. It was almost as if we didn’t skip a beat just casually talking with each other, talking about our life experiences, how much we have grown as individuals, and how anyone could notice the difference in maturity from both of us. We both had a better understanding of each other and the world and what we wanted out of it and a lot of our views were still aligned. We talked for hours that day–about life in general, our accomplishments, the ~drama~ we both missed out on, all the small things. I remember going home that day and thinking to myself “She really is the one. She is the one that got away” and I was never a person to believe in that phrase because it sounded cliche, but it was true. Everything from that moment made me realize it. Nothing was awkward, it was all natural. We were giggling like little girls. I was talking to my best friend and my first love. I knew the moment I got another chance with her it would be the best decision I could ever make because the love was still there, and I could feel it.

Fast forward to this point in time and I am happily engaged and going to marry my absolute best friend and our bond and love have only developed much deeper and stronger than ever before.