Our first meeting was a complete accident—where we both overheard a breakfast group talking about D&D on the same morning. We fell in with this group almost immediately, growing closer to both them and each other over the next year. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

We wanted to include a mix of stories for everyone from each of our perspectives, so we hope you enjoy them!

(Kate)

James sat next to me every morning when we chatted with our friends, and we shared many laughs and conversations. I never would have thought he would become my best friend—my life partner. Then, one night, after a remarkably terrible week, I asked him to join me on a walk. We meandered across the UCA campus, just talking about anything and everything. It was then I tried to take a chance and confess my feelings (in my unsurprisingly awkward fashion). To my surprise, he returned them! I had never felt so excited and nervous as those few minutes. That was September 7, 2019. Now, years later, we have started a life together built upon that foundation of friendship. And we cannot wait to take the next steps forward.

(James)

I couldn't have been a luckier man than I was that day she asked me to go walking with her. I had a pretty big crush on Kate for a while, and even had the nerve to try asking her out before that fateful day on September 7th, 2019. She initially turned me down, but we had agreed that her telling me no wouldn't change our friendship. But I had no Idea how much me saying yes to her would, and so much for the better. We have been through many highs and lows, through the death of loved ones, to global pandemics, to graduating college and pivoting careers. And regardless of what the future holds, I look forward to every adventure we still have yet to go on.

(Kate)

I'm not a shy person, but I'm not a "let's do this big thing with a lot people watching"-type person either. While this isn't a huge story, I did want to share it because James really helped me come out of my shell. The biggest example of this was when he was telling me about the UCA improv troupe auditions and started explaining improv to me. It sounded fun. Long story short, I decided to come along about 30 minutes before the actual auditions. I never would have realized how fun performing could be if not for him!

(James)

Don't listen to her, she's more outgoing than she claims. And I wouldn't have tried half the extracurricular activities I did (MMA and kickboxing to name a few) if it wasn't for Kate bringing me along for the adventure or convincing me that it was a good idea.