We first met in a mutual gaming server, where we slowly became closer by playing our favorite game, Call of Duty, together nearly every single night!

Our gaming organization decided to have a group meetup in Gatlinburg, TN during May of 2022. We both signed up and this is where our relationship really started to bloom. We were beyond excited to finally meet each other!

Once our beautiful vacation in Gatlinburg with friends came to a sad end, we were preparing to go back to our hometowns…8 hours apart. We both truly did not want to leave one another so soon! Caleb then offered that Courtney could stay in his hometown of Asheville, NC for a few extra days to meet his family until he drove her back home to Russiaville, IN. After some thought, we decided that we wanted to spend the summer together. We traveled back to Indiana, where Courtney introduced Caleb to her family. Once again, we were back on the road to North Carolina! Courtney and Caleb spent the entire summer together going on bike rides on the Blueridge Parkway, visiting new places like downtown Asheville, and working — Courtney as a veterinary assistant and Caleb as a car salesman. It was a summer we will never forget!

Courtney and Caleb dreaded the moment the entire summer—traveling back to Indiana in August to finish her senior year at Purdue University. We made the 8-hour drive and stayed together for a few nights, trying to make the most of what time was left before Caleb had to make his journey back to his hometown. We both knew long distance was imminent and it was the most responsible thing to do. The day we had to transition to long distance was absolutely heartbreaking. A lot of tears were shed. Long distance relationships are very difficult. They require a lot of trust, commitment, time, compassion, patience, communication, and flexibility. But we were set on making it work! Through the countless FaceTime calls, text messages, video games played, we counted down each and every day left to see each other again. It felt like forever!

After nearly four months of long distance, Courtney’s flight to Charlotte finally landed and she waited patiently for the reunion with the love of her life. Caleb finally arrived and it was the most magical feeling we could have ever imagined. We drive back to Caleb’s newly purchased apartment in Boiling Springs, SC, where we spent the entire Christmas break together! This was our very first Christmas, so we made sure to do all sorts of fun holiday activities, such as building a gingerbread house, watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music while decorating our first Christmas tree, wrapping presents, and opening gifts on Christmas Day. We ended the holiday break by celebrating the New Year of 2023 together, watching the ball drop on TV and standing on the balcony to watch fireworks being set off around town. The time came once again for Courtney to travel back to Indiana to finish her last semester at Purdue. We were both dreading the moment we would have to return to long distance again. The night before Courtney was to leave, Caleb surprised her with the news that he would be coming back to live with her until she graduated! HOORAY!!!

We made the long drive back to Indiana and got all of Caleb’s belongings situated in Courtney’s apartment. We were both in complete shock and disbelief that we were here together. The realization slowly set in that we would never have to do long distance ever again! We started hitting the gym together, working on our own, cooking some delicious dinners together, watching movies and tv shows, and just appreciating the moments we were able to spend together that we weren’t going to have if it weren’t for the leap of faith from Caleb.