Whenever someone asks how Thomas and I met, I always get so excited because it has been my favorite story to tell. But even since then, our lives together have intertwined to become a story that would rival any fairytale.

Thomas and I met in the fall of 2015 at UNC Greensboro while both taking an Honors College class. The course was taught by a professor who we used to keep track of the zanny things that he said and I distinctly remember always running into class with the printer paper with my paper still hot because I had just finished writing it. I did do my best, however, to try to sit near a tall boy with a goofy, cute smile. That boy was Thomas and I found out quickly that not only was he cute, he was also incredibly kind. So, naturally, I developed a big old crush on him. Fast forward to April of 2016. I had become friends with Thomas and our group decided to go to a “prom night” that our dorm was throwing. So I grabbed my high school senior prom dress, got ready with the girls and we went into the common room to dance. The RAs had set the room up like a classic prom and were playing fun, high energy dance music for us all to dance the night away to. Thomas and I were dancing with the group but I really wanted to slow dance with him. Well, after a couple of songs, I went up to the RAs and asked if they were going to play any slow songs. They immediately said they hadn’t even thought to play any and would add one in after the next few songs. So I headed back to the group and kept dancing, trying to stay close to Thomas. Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon finished and the first few notes of A Thousand Years by Christina Perri started playing. The various couples in our group started swaying together but the majority of our group went to leave the floor. I asked Thomas to dance with me and he thankfully said yes. We started dancing and I honestly don’t remember if it was me or him but that was our first kiss.

So there, I will admit, Thomas was partially right since then that I did mastermind things a little bit. But that night has led to such a beautiful multitude of stories that contains so many cute texts, Snapchats and calls when we were long distance and trips to visit each other and finishing with, most recently, moving in and starting to build our life together. Thomas has been so many things for me: loving boyfriend and (now!) fiance, valiant knight in shining armor, understanding partner and (my favorite) best friend. I cannot wait for this next saga in our story to start.

The first time I met Meghan was when she brought her laptop over to me with a technical question while we were waiting for our history class to start. I resolved the issue with her computer and went back to browsing Reddit… uh, I mean taking notes. A few weeks later the Deadpool movie came out and the friend group was going to go see it. But as is often the case, one by one people came up with reasons to not go until it was just Meghan and I who were left to go see the movie. Or that’s how I remember it happening. But alas I still was not getting the hint.

A few months later our dorm decided to throw a prom/dance party in the common area of the dorm. Everyone was all dressed up, and our friend group decided to make the most of it. The music was pumping and everyone was dancing, except for me; I know such a stick in the mud. Well Meghan was not gonna have any of that and asked if I would dance if a slow song came on. I agreed and shortly after “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri came on and we started dancing together. As the general nervousness wore off and the song came to its musical climax, Meghan seized the opportunity to make clear the hint that I was not getting and leaned in for a kiss. At that moment the whole world disappeared and I finally got the hint that she liked me.

That one song started the adventure of life that the two of us now share. From long distance to the COVID pandemic we have stayed strong and after seven years of dating I finally worked up the courage to ask the big question.