Anime conventions, burning midnight oil, sharing pizza, comics, movies, and laughter are among the beginnings of our story. While ours is far from typical, we wouldn’t change a thing about it. We appreciate you taking the time to learn a little about our journey from “crazy college kids” to two halves of the same love.

We first met during ETSU’s pop-culture convention, ETSU-Con, in 2017. Madison had transferred into the Digital Media program while I (Zack) was finishing up my master’s degree in Asian Pacific Studies. During the convention, I (Zack) was wandering the vendor hall and came across a table with a tie-dye tablecloth, Princess Leia stickers, and a curly haired, young woman with glasses behind it all. After hitting it off and becoming fast friends over the convention, we both started working together and learning how well we got along.

We would go on to making things into the wee hours of the night for the convention, whispering jokes at each other over walkie talkies, and running around like chickens amid the chaos of running a large-scale event. However, amid the chaos of running a convention (and figuring out who we were as people) there seemed to always be time to have fun and be ourselves around each other.

Whether it was tabling for ETSU-Con and laughing at how crazy life can be, hanging out at friends’ houses, going to Marvel movies, or gushing about our new favorite thing, time seemed to slow down whenever we sat down and talked. More and more, we were learning, we had so much in common.

However, our lives eventually split, and we had our own paths to go down for a while. Madison had her beautiful baby boy, Jace, and continued her career, while I (Zack) ended up teaching Japanese at ETSU and taught martial arts in the evenings. It wouldn’t be until 2022 that we would get an opportunity to rekindle our friendship.

Over the years, our lives were both changed drastically, and luckily, we ended up being there for each other during those changes. If we could handle a convention- and consistently knock it out of the park- we could handle just about anything the world put on our plate. It wasn't until that one fateful night with tears in our eyes we looked at each other and realized... "this just feels right". That's when I (Zack) knew that after all this time, the home I was constantly seeking was in front of me- curly-haired, and tucked behind glasses.

Now, together, we are raising Jace, have coffee dates, and take slow strolls through used bookstores. We intertwine our legs on the couch while reading, or take a bit longer outside when the sunshine peeks out. A simple life is all we've ever dreamt of, and at each other's side we've learned how exactly to take comfort in this new season of peace. Seven years of waiting... to understand what unconditional, continuous, grace and love truly is.

The future is never certain, and we always seem to have a new challenge thrown at us whenever life deems it necessary. However, we’re always there for each other, supporting each other, and loving each other. Every step of the way.

November is going to be a new chapter for us, full of love, excitement, and possibilities. We hope you’ll be there with us to turn the next page in our story and be part of the adventure!