It all began in 2019. I had just started my sophomore year at Rice and decided it was time to branch out and meet new people. That journey led me to Autry House, the Episcopal student group hosted at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church—where, fittingly, we’ll soon be married. Through Autry House, I found a wonderful community, and through them, I eventually found Alex. Our very first meeting was in Hanszen commons, where I was studying with friends. Alex walked up to our table, full of energy, chatting about a movie night he and his friends were planning. Before I knew it, he turned to me—someone he’d never met—and invited me along. That night, we all piled into his car, "Sheila", and drove off to see Birds of Prey. None of us knew then, but that spontaneous invitation was the quiet beginning of something extraordinary. It wasn’t until nearly a year later that our story truly started to take shape. In the strange new world of 2020, when we were all learning to live in smaller circles, a friend created a group chat and suggested we form a “bubble.” Alex and I, though not especially close at the time, both agreed. What unfolded was the start of a friendship unlike any other. We spent hours walking together, sometimes circling for so long that by the time we reached my door, we’d still linger, talking into the night. At first, I wondered why Alex was trying so hard to be my friend, worried he might be interested in more when I knew I wasn't. But he never pushed. Instead, we simply became best friends: the kind of friends who could talk for hours, share family holidays, and walk through every season of life side by side. Years passed like that. We graduated. We stayed close. And then, in late 2023, something began to shift. Slowly, quietly, friendship blossomed into something more. After nearly four years of being each other’s confidants, we finally admitted what was growing between us. We were cautious at first, afraid of risking the friendship we cherished so deeply. But it didn’t take long to realize that what we had built as friends was the perfect foundation for love. Our relationship quickly became the most natural thing in the world. Within months, we were dreaming of a future together. And then, in January 2025—just after our one-year anniversary—Alex proposed. It happened in one of my favorite places, Laguna Beach, under the most breathtaking sunset of our trip. It was simple, beautiful, and absolutely right. From that very first invitation to the movies, to all the late-night walks and years of laughter, every step led us here. And now, we can’t wait to begin the next chapter of our story. Together.

If I’m being completely honest, our story comes down to a lot of luck and great timing. We met in college, not through any grand introduction or planned meeting, but simply because we happened to have mutual friends. Julie had just started getting to know a group of people I was already close with, and one day, outside of the Hanszen dorms, we crossed paths. We clicked almost instantly. I remember thinking how cool she was and immediately offered to show her all the spots on campus where I’d cried. Then COVID hit. Life scattered all of our friends in different directions. Julie went back to Atlanta, and I stayed in Houston and for a while, we lost touch. But a few months later, after winter break, we both found ourselves back on campus early and ended up hanging out with a small group of friends. But it didn’t take long for those group hangouts to turn into just the two of us taking long walks and talking for hours. With everything else shut down, all we had was time and each other and those quiet, simple moments quickly became some of my most cherished memories. As the world opened back up, we stayed close. We graduated, life moved forward, but somehow, we were able to stay in the same city. Julie accepted a return offer that kept her in Houston (something I was over the moon about), and our friendship continued to deepen. We were constantly at each other’s apartments, always finding excuses to hang out. She was my best friend, but sometime in the fall of 2023, something shifted. At that point, we were practically inseparable. Somewhere along the way, I realized I didn’t just love her as a friend, but I was starting to think of her as something more. Admitting that was terrifying because we had built such a strong, beautiful friendship, and the idea of risking that was almost too much to consider. Thank God we decided to take the leap. We started dating, fully aware of what we stood to lose, but eager to see where it led. It turns out, all that time as best friends was just the foundation of something even more meaningful. A few months into our relationship, I knew without a doubt that this was it. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Julie. It might sound fast, but honestly, I’d been planning to be part of her life for years, well before we were anything more than friends. So, in many ways, asking her to marry me didn’t feel like a new chapter. It felt like the natural continuation of the best story I’ve ever been lucky enough to be part of.