John William was always that guy that I wanted to be friends with, and secretly wanted to be a little more than friends too. I first heard about John William during my sophomore year of college (his freshman year) during a Mississippi State University camp called New Maroon Camp. He was so well-liked by my peers that during a ‘welcome back to school’ get-together, one of my friends invited him over to a house full of sophomores. I remember thinking, “He is the only person I don’t know here… how did he get here.” Meanwhile, he was thinking, “Whose house is this…?” and had no idea I even existed (lol). Our relationship pretty much plateaued at this point for the next year. It wasn’t until October of 2020 when I became Director of this New Maroon Camp organization and John William was interviewing for a staff position that this plateau started to change. I remembered just how great I had heard he was just a year prior, and he started to be on my mind more and more. It didn’t hurt that I thought he was pretty cute too…

That February our paths crossed even more when we both were selected to be Mississippi State University tour guides, called “Roadrunners.” We increasingly started spending more time together and our friendship really began here. We lost touch during the summer of 2021, but that August New Maroon Camp happened, and it felt like we were picking up right where we had left off in the spring! He told me that he was praying for me and wanted to help me out in whatever way possible during that stressful week of camp. I just remember thinking, “Wow, for a friend he SURE IS being really nice to me.” But it didn’t end there! From hanging out at the boutique I worked at for an hour and a half to ‘shop for his mom,’ to fixing a cheap, five-dollar shelf that I had nonchalantly mentioned being sad over breaking, he made it apparent he wanted to be in my life.

I just remember thinking over and over how great John William is. He stood out to me in a culture full of passive men, whereas he was always a gentleman. He always opened my door and never ceased to pursue me. Overall, John William was different because he made (and still makes) me feel special, covering everything he does in prayer. Two months later, he had the opportunity to meet my family, as well as family friends who made sure he knew they would be around in case he ever hurt my feelings; thank goodness he never did! Somehow not scared by the jokes about what would happen if he broke my heart, that same day he asked me to be his girlfriend! Ever since that day, John William has never wavered from being the same man who made me feel so special almost two and a half years later. He is an incredible friend and partner, and I am beyond grateful that he is who the Lord has in store to be my spouse. It is so clear that he loves me, but it’s even clearer that he loves Jesus Christ first (which is the best thing I could ever ask for in a husband). I can’t wait to start a life with him so soon – I love you so dearly, John William!

“Junior year. I’m calling it, you’ll give it ‘till junior year and then you’ll find a girl and settle down.” On the second floor of Mississippi State’s Oak Hall in Fall 2019, there was lots of speculation among the freshman guys about who would wind up with who.

For me, the prophecy came about as foretold. But it was only one year later that the new Director of New Maroon Camp, a group dedicated to hosting a week-long orientation camp for incoming MSU freshmen, was announced. Jordan Smith…hmmm. I wasn’t sure if I had met her, but I admired her for stepping up to such a big job and being selected for it, and people sure seemed excited for her!

I was excited to become part of NMC staff again that year, and taking professional headshots was one of the first items on us counselors’ agenda. We gathered on the Drill Field, and as different groups took their photos on the steps of the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering (a place I’m all too familiar with), I decided to make some conversation to pass the time.

There stood Jordan Smith. What happened next was only a 20-minute conversation…I learned about her newfound love for sports photography, what she wanted to do with her degree, and surprisingly, that her family was a lot like mine, with parents who had split loyalties between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers, but we both wound up at Mississippi State. Wasn’t that funny? It was only a 20-minute conversation, but something stuck with me—she was so pleasant to talk to, and she was obviously passionate about so much in life. She had a light about her, and I walked home that afternoon thinking about how charming she was. It was crazy, but for a few days I found myself thinking, “I can see a long future with her.”

From that point on, I made sure we were friends. We stayed in touch through an extra-long Christmas break. I recall late nights woodworking in my dad’s workshop while listening to a Spotify playlist she had shared with me, so I could ensure we had something to keep talking about. While I was getting to know her through the country music she loved, George Strait sang “You Look So Good in Love,” and I imagined that Jordan Smith would, too.

Spring of 2021 did nothing but increase my admiration for Jordan. In addition to leading New Maroon Camp administratively, she also started inviting our staff to meetings to read Scripture and pray for incoming students. It had been evident for quite some time that Jordan was a believer, but seeing her leverage her influence to glorify God left a serious impression on me.

She was beautiful both inside and out—I remember when she accepted an award on behalf of NMC and the green dress she looked so stunning in. It was around this time that I told my friend Matt, “Yeah, Jordan Smith is my Director right now…” I wasn’t totally sure what she would be later, but I was positive that our relationship would not end with this organization. On a beach trip after the spring semester, my friend Kennedy mentioned, “you know what I think you should do, Jdub? I think you should ask Jordan Smith on a date.” Glancing at Matt, I smirked, “Brother, if you only knew.” My heart was way ahead of him, but I had decided to keep our relationship ‘business casual’ until camp was over that fall.

New Maroon Camp 2021 came and went. All of a sudden, Jordan and I had ‘conversations to continue’ and all sorts of other reasons to go get coffee, share meals, and run into each other on- and off-campus. We tried to be somewhat covert to shake off pressure from people we knew, but strolling out of Roadrunner (our Mississippi State tour guide organization) class together every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:50 AM only keeps things so private. We were sitting with each other at every football game. I took her to a date party with my fraternity, after which we sat and talked for hours at a research farm North of campus. We were starting to be seen as a pair, and both of us were liking the idea of that more and more.

On October 16, 2021, the Alabama football team came to town and brought the Smith family with them. By then, my mind was made up. I ate with her family at Little Dooey, watched the Dawgs in Davis Wade, and decided it was time to make things official. As Saturday night turned to Sunday morning, we shared two things on the Drill Field—our feelings and intentions for one another, and a Papa John’s ‘Shaq-a-Roni’ pizza. I left with a girlfriend I was ecstatic about, and a wonderful 2.5-year journey ahead of me.

Since then, Jordan Melissa Smith has become my best friend. It’s hard to count the number of pictures we have from Mississippi State sporting events, from Starkville to Tampa, Florida. That first Kappa Sigma date party turned into every one after that, including fun formal trips to Nashville and New Orleans. The first Christmas break we were together, we did the obligatory ‘hometown dates’—I got to see Birmingham from the top of the Vulcan statue, and she got to see my neck of the woods from the top of an abandoned water tower in Hinds County. But it wasn’t until the second Christmas we shared that I took her to the Canton Lights, so, Jackson Metro Area people, I guess you could say that’s when things really got serious.

She’s my favorite wedding date, the face I’m driving to see so often, and the only reason I’ve been to as many concerts and watched as many TV shows as I have. She makes life fun, and the outstanding and mundane moments alike are better with her in them. She encourages me to be the best man I can be, and she’s an impressive example to chase (she’s already graduated from college twice—I can’t keep up!). Most importantly, she’s a woman submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ, and one who looks more like the 31st chapter of Proverbs every day. She’s the woman I took back to that spot in North Farm on February 24th and asked to marry me. Thankfully, she’s the woman who said yes! I love Jordan Smith, and I can’t wait for our stories to become one in marriage.