If you ask Jared: Through a mutual friend, I got invited to take some Christmas photos of Michaela and her friend. After hanging out with them for a couple hours, and getting dinner, I thought “Wow, what a special girl. I would love to hang out with her more”. Unfortunately, due to my lack of confidence and never seeing her ever on campus, nothing came from it.

Fast forward to December 26th, 2021, and Michaela posted on Instagram about moving West. I thought to myself, “Well, there goes my shot”.

Mid-March 2022 comes along and a mutual friend mentions Michaela in a conversation and I say “I never got to know her, but wish I had”. The mutual friend then takes action to connect us. I shot my shot and messaged her on Instagram because I didn’t have her phone number.

After texting and calling many times, we decided we wanted to meet, again. I bought a ticket and have never regretted it. After seeing her eyes and the mountains, I knew this was where I was supposed to be: with her, in the mountains.

The best way for us to stay in contact was an app called Marco Polo. With 3 hrs of time difference, Michaela working at summer camp, and also working myself, having time to communicate was not easy. After juggling these things for six months, I decided, “I’m sick of this” and talked to Michaela about closing the distance. After much talking, we decided it would be best for me to move westward.

In late June of 2023, I rented a uhaul, Michaela flew east, and we began our journey west. We started the adventure of a lifetime. We drove through many states and National Parks and marveled at the beautiful scenery.

Once we arrived to Portland, I found a job and an apartment and have enjoyed living close to Michaela every day.

Michaela, I look forward to every adventure and every obstacle life throws our way, tackling it together with you.

If you ask Michaela: A friend of mine asked one of her goofy buddies to take pictures of us in front of the SAU Christmas tree in December of 2018. We had just gone out to eat with said goofy friend at City Cafe, a local diner near our college. I didn’t think too much about Jared; I thought he was a cool and funny guy, but at the time, I was not looking for anything. I had my head and heart focused on school and on my therapy journey towards healing.

Fast forward to December of 2021 and I was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime: finally pursuing my dream of moving to the PNW. I graduated from SAU and found myself in a uhaul 10 short days later heading west. I began my teaching career in Portland and loved adventuring every weekend.

March 2022 comes along and a friend texts me “I have a guy in mind for you”. “Well he better be on the west coast because I just moved out here and you know that”, is what came to my mind. Jared messaged me on Instagram and we talked. And talked. We asked each other about a million “burning questions” to get to know each other. Wow. I was really starting to get interested in this guy. We started to call each other and would be on the phone for 2-4 hours, never running out of things to talk about and it all came so naturally. I jokingly (seriously) said, “You should come visit!!!!!” and he shot that down, just thinking of the finances. But I really wanted to meet this guy again. Long story short, and a few months later, he was flying out to meet again. We crammed all we could into the 5 short days of his visit. The mountain, the coast, and everything in between. This time was so special, and gave us the opportunity to define our relationship. Saying goodbye was tough.

Then began the long distance. Marco Polo truly deserves all the credit. We’d both sit on the app talking about our days, asking even more questions, and just connecting with each other on there. 1000000/10 recommended for any LDR. Facetime calls, phone calls, texts, weekend visits when I had long weekends off of school. Wow. We did our best and were so intentional about the time we had during our long distance relationship. Not one regret is had of the money spent to fly east to see Jared or vice versa. We were quite serious about ending the long distance between us and one of us would have to move. Of course, Jared had to move to the beautiful PNW because it is just the best place on earth. But actually, we saw that as the best option, so the move was scheduled for June 2023.

We embarked on an amazing journey West, as Jared hadn’t seen many of the beautiful things. We stopped at some of my favorite places and National Parks, enjoyed camping and being outdoors, and witnessed Jared crying at the beauty of it all. We were doing some of our favorite things together and it was truly amazing. Gosh, I love this guy!!! I know we both will cherish this trip forever.

Also, THE DISTANCE IS FINALLY OVER. Amen and amen. We were so happy and so enjoyed having each other so close. We still do. We spent the rest of the summer adventuring when we could and exploring new places together.

And I can’t wait to do that together forever! On January 19, 2024, when I thought I was having a sister photoshoot, the love of my life surprised me and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes, and we celebrated with our loved ones. Another surprise was my parents flew in from GA to be there for it!!!! Literally the best surprises ever.

And so our forever begins. Jared, I cannot wait to be your wife. You are God's greatest gift to me and I thank Him for bringing you into my life. You’re my best friend and I can’t wait to experience all that life has for us. I know this is just the beginning of our story.