Gracelyn's Point of View- Our junior year of high school, Covid-19 shut down the world. I was doing school at home and had a lot of free time on my hands- that is when I met Joey. Never would I have thought I would end up marrying this boy, but little did I know. After we met, we spent every day together. He wanted to go on crazy adventures and do all the fun things that I wanted to do. We had the best time together and quickly he became my best friend. Not too long after, Joey asked me to be his girlfriend. I believe we had formed a friendship that set the foundation for our relationship. Soon, we graduated high school and it was time to figure out life. I started college and Joey made the decision to join the Marine Corps. Joey left for bootcamp, I will say this was not easy at all!! I probably cried everyday! We went from seeing each other all day, every day to zero communication. We went three months, which I know in hindsight does not seem like a long time, with only communicating through letters. Looking back, I believe this experience was when I knew Joey was the one. I would write letters just about everyday to Joey and I would run outside when I heard the mailman coming to see if I had gotten a letter from Joey. The feeling I would get when I would read his letters was like nothing else. He reassured me through each letter how much he loved me and that one day he was going to make me his wife- and he kept his promise! Joey graduated boot camp and our journey began. I would spend countless miles and hours on the road traveling to wherever Joey was, even if it only meant getting to spend a couple of hours together. While the distance is not easy by any means, I truly believe that it has made our relationship so strong. I met the love of my life on a golf cart ride during the craziest time in the world, and now I get to marry him. He has truly made me the happiest girl in the world.

Joey's Point of View- Little did I know that an afternoon run in the neighborhood during Covid-19 would change my life. Gracelyn gave me her snapchat on a small piece of cardboard while I was running, and I still have it to this day. We instantly clicked. She wanted to go on all these crazy adventures and do all sorts of things and all I wanted was to be close to her. We would lay out in the front yard and look at the stars for hours just getting to know each other. As time passed, I finally worked up the courage to ask her to be my girlfriend. After she said yes, the adventures only continued. I saw her in the stands of every baseball game, always cheering me on, from baseball to life in general. We both graduated high school. She was going to college and I decided to join the Marine Corp. We’ve been through many ups and down and I still wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. We’ve come a long way and we still have a long road ahead, but I am thankful that God has given me my biggest cheerleader to help me get through it.