Savannah and I (Nathan) met in the lobby of our University library through mutual friends on extremely rough days for both of us. Our conversation that night resembled one that two good friends would have had, as we bantered back and forth for about 10 minutes. After a brief pause in the middle of what I remember to be a rather entertaining conversation, we finally got the chance to introduce ourselves. That night was the first night I met my future wife. If I could go back and observe that night, I would look at all the things that led up to that moment. Our relationship was never a normal one, even in our friendship there were always things that seemed to bring us closer. That night was simply the start of a grand journey God was about to take us on.

After that night, we continued to bump into each other. It was almost as if the stars had aligned in the perfect formation, that the world had shifted our schedules to bring us together… or our friends continued to find opportunities to bring us together. Our friendship began to blossom and flourish as we began to study together, hang out with mutual friends, and have long conversations in the Art West Lobby on the red leather couches. This is about when I began to catch feelings. I found myself jumping at every opportunity I could to be around her. One night in particular as I had just gotten ready for bed I received a text asking for help setting up a photoshoot in a nearby building. Without hesitation, I changed and ran (literally) over. But because of everything that was happening, and my not wanting to damage a beautiful friendship, I remained quiet (to an extent). I had multiple slip-ups, moments where my feelings for her overwhelmed my filter, like when I expressed my feelings under my breath during moveout (she heard me).

A few days after that slip-up we talked, and Savannah revealed that she had feelings for me (GASP!)! On May 19, 2023, we started dating! Oh boy has it been a rollercoaster.

From dancing in Savannah’s living room in her apartment on our first date to working until 2 am on set design for the theater to befriending stray cats, we have done the crazy to the insane together. From meal prepping to rating Pokemon, it has never been devoid of laughter. We have seen each other through times of stress, times of sorrow, and times of misery. Through those times we grew as a couple and as individuals. I cannot say when I knew, but there came a point when I knew for certain, that this was the woman I wanted by my side, the life partner I could depend upon, the one whom my soul loves, which is why on March 22, a tiny package arrived.

The day I proposed, I couldn’t help but smile. Everything that happened that day, happened in a blur. The day felt unreal. I had planned out a date night special, with everything laid out to fit so that I would be proposing right at sunset. That is not what happened. I took Savannah first to an Animal Shelter to play with the cats and dogs as, what I hoped would be, a distraction (it was, but it didn’t lower her suspicions). After she fell in love with a kitten named Violet, I took her to a romantic Italian dinner, about 45 minutes ahead of when I thought we would be there. But then, we get to the fun part, the part where I, underneath a willow tree, gave her a journal that contained love letters I had written since the day I found that the ring was being delivered. I then got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. Of that entire night, there is one moment that will forever be my favorite, that was the first dance I had with my fiance at sunset.