It all started in high school. From meeting each other through mutual friends to hanging out every weekend, we were unknowingly beginning our journey.

I’ll forever cherish those younger days — the whispers about dating a senior, the feeling of genuine love for the first time, the growing, the laughing, and all the memories we made. I remember it like it was yesterday.

From day one, Mike just fit. He treated my family like his own, always showed up when it counted, and quietly taught me what it feels like to be truly loved. Looking back, I don’t think either of us realized what we were building together — especially at 17.

As we grew up, life took us in different directions, and that was almost the end of our young love story. Mike moved to Georgia for trade school, and I went to Buffalo for college. Although that chapter closed, I don’t think we ever fully let go. We stayed close, visited each other when we could, and always kept in touch — and so did my mom.

Even after we had gone our separate ways and were fully immersed in the next chapters of our lives, my mom still had the same gut feeling about Mike and me that she did from day one. So much so that she “happened” to run into him at Chipotle and snapped a photo, proudly captioning it “Future Son-in-Law.” At the time, I couldn’t fully agree… but now? I can confidently say: You were right. (And yes — Mom is still saying, “I told you so.”)

Years went by. We built our own lives, made our own memories, but somehow, we always found our way back to each other — through texts, visits, and a few late-night Taco Bell confessions.

Fast forward to 2022 — we reconnected in a way that felt so natural, it was almost weird. It was like no time had passed, like we were picking up right where we left off — but this time, we were older, more grounded, and somehow even more sure. It all started to make sense.

Since then, life together has felt easy, right, and honestly… long overdue. We've grown up with each other, apart and together, and we’re so excited to finally say we’re in it for good.