Let’s go back to New Years Eve 2016 as a 15 year old little girl. I tagged along with my big brother to hangout with his friends and shoot fireworks, upset that I didn’t have any plans of my own. We met his friends at the firework stand where I saw Justin for the very first time. He was tagging along with another couple which made us the only 2 people there solo. I (sorta) joked with Colby that I was going to kiss “that Justin boy” when the ball dropped. Throughout the night, we never spoke, but I was really hyping myself up to make this move since everyone else had a New Years kiss, why not? But Justin ended up going home before the New Year. (He says he was going fishing or something the next morning, but I think I just made him nervous after the stories he’s told me over the years. ;) )

Little did I know, Justin knew exactly who I was long before the firework stand. He had heard my name around school and even seen me play several volleyball games in the Student Section. For some reason, he says I was way out of his league. (But look at us now.)

Back to Justin leaving early on NYE 2016, this is where the first move was made. It was me... I SLID INTO HIS DMs! I think my first words were quite literally “Cleanest truck in D County”. So now you see where it all started hahaha.

Most people probably say “And the rest was history” right about now. However, being 15 and 16 years old, our path has been a hilly one. We didn’t know what we wanted in life at that age, but we struggled and overcame together. I dont think we’ve ever spent more than 2 weeks apart since we started hanging out in January 2016. This man immediately had a hold on me. I saw so much potential in him. He was automatically my best friend with ALL of the same interests as me. That was one thing that made me realize I had found my person; all the fun times we had together doing the things we both genuinely loved.

Over the last 7+ years, we have grown into completely different humans than the two kids who met at a firework stand. We have learned how to really love, how to make sacrifices for each other, and most importantly, how to communicate our thoughts and feelings.

I know some people think that high schoolers and even college students should experience different things, try new relationships, and “enjoy” life. However, I have experienced more places, friendships, and amazing memories with Justin than I could have planned for myself. And for that, I thank God that he gave us so many more years together than most people get. I’m thankful that we got to learn life together, grow up together, and love hard together.

As we plan for marriage, I pray that God continues to work through us and prepares us to come together as one. I’m so excited to make memories for the rest of our lives together as our hair turns grey!