"Invisible String" - The idea that your "person" (your partner, soulmate, best friend, etc.) is always present in your life's path, even when you haven't met them yet.

I truly believe that we were always meant to cross paths. I remember someone on the 8th grade choir trip vomiting on the bus after we went to Six Flags, who turned out to be Kobi. I also remember the drive home every day, passing by a house down the street from mine and saying to myself "Man, the kids that live there really like to play outside," not knowing it was Kobi's sister's house. I have a picture of myself and my friends that I found in my camera roll from the 2018 graduation ceremony, with a blur of a guy in a pink shirt walking behind us - not knowing that 5 months later that pink-shirted man would be my boyfriend and now future husband.

We were in band together, and really connected over the summer of 2018. I was drum major at the time, and Kobi was drum captain. My job, as "drum major," was to literally keep my eyes on the drummers at all time to make sure we were in sync. Well... it wasn't too much of a job for me to look at him. He had messaged me on Twitter (the true "social media" love story start) and things naturally began to progress from there. I told my parents about him pretty early on, and was surprised to discover that my mom and his dad worked for the same company for many years. What are the odds, truly?

We started dating on October 12, 2018, right after we left the Sadie Hawkins dance (that I so bravely asked him to go to with the help of our high school band). From then on, we spent my senior year making memories together. Kobi is a year younger than me, so it was always in the back of my mind that I would leave to college - to New York City of all places - and that if we wanted to make it work... we would have to do long distance. Did I expect a 17 year old boy to stay and wait for me to finish college? Realistically, no. But he decided to stay, and I went away in the summer of 2019 to attend NYU.

To say long distance was hard would be an understatement. It took a lot of patience, a lot of plane rides, and a lot of love to get through. Distance made our hearts grow fonder. We cherished the moments we got to share, the few and far between. He came to visit a few times before I eventually graduated in the year of 2022 and came back home. I moved to San Antonio to begin my teaching journey in 2023, and he applied for a job and moved with me in February of that year. We have lived here, and together, ever since.

We got engaged on October 12, 2023 during our 5 year anniversary trip in Austin. We will be getting married on October 12, 2024. As you can see... the 12th of October is truly a special day for us. I believe that our love is a gift from God. We prayed that one day we would find each other, and our prayers were answered. We were there all along, and met right when we needed to. We have grown up together, and gone through many life changes together. We are excited for this next chapter of our lives, and can not wait to share our special day with you.

"Time, curious time

Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs

Were there clues I didn't see?

And isn't it just so pretty to think

All along there was some

Invisible string

Tying you to me?"

- Invisible String (Taylor Swift)