In 2010, I met Miles through mutual friends at East Carolina University (ECU). He was tall, skinny and had a silly goatee. We never looked at each other in a romantic way…. He was just one of the track boys that were cool to hang out with and he would say that I was cool and caring friend. Things were that way all of undergrad.

December 26, 2016, years after both of us graduated from ECU, Miles randomly messaged me on Facebook. His parents had moved to Greensboro, NC (my hometown) from Lacey, WA and he was in town for the holidays. At the time, Miles was completing his basic Marine training in Stafford, VA. He messaged me saying, “Hey Crystal, are you in Greensboro?” It was the day after Christmas, and my family and I were literally just arriving back in town from my sister’s house in Georgia. But I said sure, unpacked the car and then got ready to hang out with Miles. We met and talked for hours! Both of us had gone through so many major life experiences since undergrad. I told him about my dream of going to dental school, and he talked about his process of becoming a Marine. We laughed and joked and even played a few games of pool at Jake Billiards. Before we knew it, it was 2AM and Jake’s began to close. Time flew by without either of us even noticing! Miles walked me to my car, and I gave him a hug goodbye. He laughed at me and said, “What was that?” So, I gave him another hug. He spun me around in a circle and said goodbye. In that moment, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. It was then that I knew that Miles was special. That night, I went home and called one of my friends to rant about how amazing Miles was and how shocked I was for even thinking that haha! We never truly got to know each other on a serious level in undergrad.

That week, we hung out a few more times as friends and had a lot fun! But eventually, it came time for him to go back to Virginia. We decided to get Thai food (one of our favorites) together before he got on the road. After lunch, we said goodbye and Miles thanked me for showing him so many cool places around the town. We both got in our cars and turned our music on. But before I could even put my car in reverse I saw Miles running over to my car. I opened my door and said, “what’s wrong?”. He said, “I can’t leave without one of these!” and gave me a kiss.

After that, we kept in touch. But with the distance and me trying to focus on getting into school, communication eventually stopped. I didn’t expect to talk him for years again since he lived in Virginia (which I considered to be far at the time lol). It wasn’t until one day I went shopping at the mall with my sister that I ran into him. Miles had literally just gotten off the plane and came to pick up a pair of shoes for his brother and just happened to step into the store that I was in. We made eye contact, and both froze. That was the first time we felt that our paths were meant to align. He came up to me and asked if we could get dinner together. This time around, we became a couple.

Miles moved from Stafford, VA to --> Pensacola, FL --> Murrieta, CA --> Kuwait --> and now to San Diego, CA. To this day, Miles and I have shared so may memories in so many locations:

- VA – His Family Reunion / Kings’ Dominion

- Stafford, VA

- Washington D.C.

- Greensboro, NC

- Raleigh, NC – Wesley’s (His brother) Graduation

- Greenville, NC – ECU Homecoming

- Pensacola, FL

- Destin, FL

- Panama City Beach, FL

- Vegas, NV

- Murrieta, CA

- Oceanside, CA

- San Diego, CA

- Los Angeles, CA

On March 13, 2020, Miles and I found out that we would have to cancel our trip to Aruba due to the Coronavirus! We were not only heartbroken that we couldn't take our trip, but that Miles now couldn’t travel more than 200 miles. The only way for us to spend my spring break together was for me to go to San Diego. So, that’s what I did. We had so much time to bond, laugh and watch Netflix since school was also cancelled.

On March 18, 2020, Miles asked me “If you could do anything today, what would it be?” He knew I was still upset about our trip being cancelled and most of the main attractions in town being closed. I thought for a moment and said, “Sunset Cliff would be beautiful!” He replied, “Ok, let’s go!” We arrived there about 45 minutes before sunset and had wine and cheese while enjoying the view. Once the sun began to set, we got out to take a picture. Miles asked a random lady also enjoying the view to take a picture of us and whispered to her that he was going to propose. We stood at the top of the cliff smiling and then Miles turned and grabbed my hands. He professed his love and dropped down on one knee. I couldn’t believe that this was happening!! Then he pulled out a RING and asked me to MARRY him! Of course, I said YES! The people around us congratulated us that night, as I cried in his arms watching the remainder of the sunset.

Miles has always had a way of making me feel special and just being a caring person. On May 13, 2013, I gave Miles a graduation gift that was a congratulations card and a picture frame of us and our mutual friends. He still has the gift today (Card and all)! He’s kept quite a few sentimental things throughout our relationship. I am so grateful to have someone that I have a real friendship with, supported me while I aimed for my dream and while I’m living it, and is able to love me in ways that I didn’t know were possible. God had a plan for every intricate thing that had happened throughout our entire story. Even though our lives went in different directions after undergrad, God directed our paths back towards each other. Neither of us could have foreseen our marriage in the future, but God’s plan and timing has been and will always be perfect.