The first time we met each other was in the 5th and 6th grade at our Wednesday night church class (taught by Rachel's mom). It wasn't very long and we became super close friends. Dustin was this super cool (but actually pretty weird) 5th grader that loved four wheelers and football. Rachel was in the 6th grade and spent all of her time hanging out with her friends. We first started "dating" the summer before Rachel's 8th grade year, and like most middle school relationships it lasted maybe a month. We broke up, but we were still friends. Toward the end of Rachel's 9th grade year, she was having a hard day and needed a friend to talk to, so she called Dustin and talked to him for 3 hours. Two weeks later, on February 16, 2017, we started dating for real this time. We went through all of our high school milestones together. We watched each other cheer and play football, and we were there for each other when people were mean and high school wasn't so fun. We watched each other grow in so many ways, but in particular, we saw each other grow closer to the Lord. From mission trips to D-Nows, we have seen each others’ love for Christ grow so much. We were there for each other when we had to answer some of our first pretty big questions like, "what do I want to do for the rest of my life?" and "what college do I want to go to?" Rachel graduated first and went to the University of South Alabama while Dustin was still at Leroy. After Rachel moved to college, Dustin gave her a promise ring, and he promised her that he would marry her one day. Throughout college we had so many memories, both good and bad. We've gone on so many adventures, met so many new people, and had many late night ice cream runs. We've been by each others side as we've finished school, and made some of our first big life decisions together. We're each others best friend and safe space. Over the past 7 years, we have grown up together, and have fallen more in love with each other each day.