Lauren asked me to write this part after she read Jamie McFadyen's retelling of his and Laura's story, so this will be from my (Tim's) perspective.

Our story begins at least 4 years before we actually met each other. Both of us, during high school, decided to delay our enrollment at UNC so that we could each go on a gap year: Lauren with YWAM to Colorado, Greece and Lebanon; me to study Persian Language in Tajikistan. What we did during that year isn't super important to our story, but the fact that we took gap years is. Hold this thought until later.

Both of us love and deeply cherish our years at UNC, making friends to last a lifetime, with experiences and stories to match. We rushed Franklin, lived through COVID on campus, and met each other. As it does for many others, Chapel Hill will always hold a unique and special place in our lives.

Throughout my time at UNC, I clung to the hope that I would find a smart, beautiful woman who loves Jesus while in college. Four years went by and nothing happened, and I was encouraged to let go of this dream.

Well, within the first month of second semester, senior year, someone asked to borrow a Wii in our massive campus ministry group message. That person was Lauren Chamblee. I was the first to respond, saying, "I can if I get to play too." A few group messages later, Hannah, Lauren, and I had agreed to play Just Dance.

Well I was dead serious about Just Dance, so I texted Tori Horton - Lauren's roommate of four years - asking for Lauren's number. She gave it and I asked Lauren if she was free. I had no intention of this being a date, but Lauren gave some lame excuse about not being free and proceeded to avoid me when she saw me at Food Lion the following Saturday. Thus ended my relationship with Lauren Chamblee, so I thought.

Well, fast forward not three weeks, I was sitting at a bonfire at my house, affectionately dubbed the Tub. David Cubrilla - my roommate of three years - had coordinated a small group event with Tori - a get-together of weenie and marshmallow roasting. I sat in my lawn chair, chatting with someone about plans for the following year. He mentioned a gap year before medical school. I interrupted, encouraging him to pursue it. He gestured across the fire at Lauren, who had just arrived, and said that she also took a gap year before college - BIG news to me. Just like that, my relationship with Lauren Chamblee was not over, because I wanted to talk with her about her gap year. The conversation started immediately between us. As we spoke, I thought she was very attractive, and I liked the way we looked into each others' eyes. I realized I HAD to ask her out, and briefly considered asking her out then, but figured that she might not appreciate it if I did right in front of the more than a dozen other people there. I texted her the next morning, and scheduled a date at Honeysuckle for next Wednesday morning.

One thing led to another, and I proposed to her on July 31, 2022.