We met in the summer of 2021 at Impact Next Gen Church Camp. The camp is full of fun games where you’re placed into teams, and the goal is to win a trophy or medal at the end of the week. I’m super competitive, and that year, Caden and his team were my biggest rivals. My mission was clear: beat Caden’s team. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, which was disappointing, but it was also the start of something else.

During my free time, I loved playing nine square, and Caden always seemed to be there too. It became a bit of a competition between us, and a lot of smack talk happened! Years later, I found out that Caden didn’t care much about the game; he was just there for me—the “blondie” in line! At the time, I was 18, and he was 16, so there were no moves made, but little did I know, he’d make them a few years later.

Fast forward to when I was going into my junior year of college, and Caden reached out. We started hanging out, and before I knew it, I was attending his track meets. Now, if you know anything about track meets, you know they can be hours long and Caden knew it was only a matter of time before we’d end up together because who in their right mind sits through that much running?

But I was determined not to date a high schooler, so I waited until a few days after he graduated. Since then, we’ve become inseparable best friends. We’ve created so many fun memories together. Our favorite thing to do is dance. We line dance, ballroom dance, and even salsa dance. We also love belting out our favorite songs in the car with all the windows down, screaming at the top of our lungs. And we never say no to a picnic in the park.

From rivals at camp to best friends who can’t get enough of each other, our love story has been filled with laughter, joy, and many unforgettable moments.