Spring 2014. Junior Year. Roswell High School. The only way I could take the Ceramics class I always wanted to was if I switched out of my US History class, and into another one. I really liked that class. But I’ll have the same teacher if I switch so no biggy. I switch. First day I walk into class, and there she is. Like an angel. My stomach drops. She’s sitting in the desk behind my old one. “Play It cool, Demetrius. Play It cool.” I say nothing. She’s out of my league, and I like playing the quiet and mysterious athlete. But man was she cute. I’ve seen her at Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) before but it was always in passing. A few weeks go by and my middle school orchestra seatmate, Jacquelyn Terrell, came into class after a sabbatical of sorts. Alex and her sparked a friendship and soon enough we would all talk in class from time to time with Jacquelyn being the mover of conversation (thank you). But the semester passed and so was my opportunity to get to know Alex better. At this point in my life I was a busy guy. I was too immature to pursue a serious relationship with any one girl and I was preparing for my senior season of football and focusing on my walk with The Lord. Coming into fall, I had a crush who I started to get to know better. She told me she was going to be taking Honors Anatomy senior year! I was already late in registering for classes so the moment she told me, I registered in hopes that I’d gotten into the class in time (there was only one). First day of school, I walk into anatomy (late of course), look around, and she’s nowhere to be found! Come to find out, she somehow DIDNT GET INTO THE CLASS! What?! She registered before me though?? Weird. Great, now I’m in a class I really didn't even want to take in the first place...by myself. I sat in the back bummed as ever...But who walks in?? No other than Alex freaking Martin!! And Jacquelyn shortly thereafter. They waved me down saying “Come on! Come up here and sit with us.” So I did.

Alex and I got alot closer, working on schoolwork & projects together. Not to mention she was the captain of the cheerleading team and boy did she look good in that green and black. But I didn’t know what I wanted. And had no clue if she even liked me the way that I liked her. She did. How do I know? Well cause she straight up told me. “Well thats good to know” I said to myself laughing, but deep down I was like “ YES YES YES!!” So I asked her on a date. I had the whole day planned out, but the toughest part was trying to figure out how to entertain her with 32 bucks & spare change in my pocket. We went to a christmas tree farm, cut down the smallest tree we could find (remember, the bigger the tree, the more expensive) & named him George. We got some Gyros at my favorite Greek joint in all of Roswell. Finally, we watched Polar Express. That was that. We started dating. I always thought it was so stupid to ask someone to be “my girlfriend”. lol Senior year went by and oh man It was the best. But soon enough, we had to make a big decision. Should we continue to do this through college? More importantly, where was I going to college? I had a tough decision. Alabama or Ole Miss? Alex was going to Bama no matter what. My brother was there and the football team was well, Alabama. But I wasn’t feelin It. It wasnt me. My Mom & I visited Ole Miss 3 weeks before graduation. I loved It. I had a feeling God wanted me there. I couldn’t explain it. So I took a leap of faith, I only knew 3 people that were there or going there, one of them being Max Lopez (one of my groomsmen). I called Alex and told her my decision. It wasn’t anxiety or frustration I received, but rather joy & celebration! Alex wanted the best for me and if I thought that was the best decision for me, then she supported that 100%. Alex was so confident in God that she knew that if this unspoken “end goal” was what He wanted, It would happen know matter what did. Was It going to be hard? Yes. Was It hard? Yes.

I remember sitting in front of Alex’s Freshmen Dorm in our filled to the brim Yukon XL, saying our final goodbyes as my mom and I head to Ole Miss to move in. We knew the road ahead would be a tough one. Four years is a longtime. I remember sitting there and crying, both of us. Telling the other that it would all be worth it in the end. We weren’t about to force something, that wasn’t right for us as individuals, just so we could be closer together. That’s a part of the reason why we were OK with going to different schools. It was the best decision we could’ve made. We both grew separately - we allowed God to work on each of us individually. To find friends that encourage and love us, to forge our own paths and our own experiences. Through those 4 years we learned trust, communication, patience, understanding, self-control, hopefulness, faithfulness, true love, joy, and peace. More importantly, we learned how to put all of those things into practice, and we experienced situations which called for those things. Through phone calls, FaceTimes, letters, gift packages, lots and lots of prayer, and reminding ourselves that God will do what He wants to do, we made it work. But more importantly we made It fun. Faith is often the continual act of letting go. There was a lot of that. Even if, at the time, we didn’t fully realize it. God worked in my life during my time in college in a way that I would never have fathomed. He put me in positions for growth in Him. He brought people into my life that would become core characters in the development of my story and my growth as a person. To this day, I can’t put into words how extraordinary that was. A lot of those men will be standing beside me on our big day. They pushed me to be the best man I could be, pushed me to walk with The Lord and encouraged me in every aspect of my being. My relationship with Alex could’ve turned out a lot differently if not for them.

Alex and I took turns visiting each other. Those weekends were the absolute best. It made me appreciate what I had that much more. Having the time of our lives at date parties, formals, football games, and everything in between. But it were those little moments, that catch me by surprise that I cherished the most. The times where I would look at Alex and think “Wow, she’s it." Those were the times where I’d step back and remind myself that God is good, even in those tough times, He always is. At this point we knew that we were in it for the long haul. It would be a waste of time if we weren’t “All In”. Being so young, its hard to fully understand the magnitude of such a statement. But I wasn’t too young to fully understand it’s importance. Soon enough 1 year passed, then 2, then 3 and then 4... we had graduated!! Nearly, 1,373 days after we first sat in that car with tears in our eyes, not knowing what the future holds, we found ourselves in a similar situation. Only this time, they were tears of joy. We sat in Alex’s car in front of her friends' apartment in Tuscaloosa after saying our final goodbyes. With tears in our eyes we knew that we had done the impossible. That very moment was a culmination of years of blood, sweat, and tears, not only for our education but more importantly for us. It was all worth it. As we moved back home to Roswell, God had blessed both of us with wonderful employment and with It I was able to purchase the one thing I’ve been waiting for for 5 years of my life. A ring. On January 5th, 2020, I asked Alex to spend the rest of her life with me. And on that day she made me the happiest man on earth.

Social studies was never my favorite subject in school until a cute boy, Demetrius Kaisharis, came strolling in. He was transferred into my class a few weeks after school started and I remember him walking in after class started that day and thinking, “Oh yay a cute boy” and got the slight feeling of a little crush. He starts walking towards me and takes the seat directly in front of me and lemme tell ya the back of his head was ridiculous. The year goes by and he hardly speaks a word to me. Fast forward to senior year and he walks into my Honors Anatomy class. My friend Jacquelyn, bridesmaid, who’s known Demetrius since Middle school invited him to sit next to us. The three of us became the best of friends and my crush on him sparked again. Unfortunately for me, he was taken at the time so I was in the “friend zone.” A few months later he was now on the market and Jacquelyn became the wing woman of the season (I think she wanted the two of us to date more than I did sometimes). Our first official date was on 12.13.14. We went to a Christmas Tree Farm and got the smallest tree in the lot, broke high school kids probs, and they ended up giving it to us for free because it was so small. From there he took me to a Greek restaurant, introduced me to his heritage, and the rest is history. He never officially asked me to be his girlfriend, but I guess having a Christmas tree together meant I was committed to him. Senior year flies by in the blink of an eye and we’re left to choose where we will spend the next four years of our lives.

I had solidified my decision to attend Alabama (roll tide) and couldn’t be more excited! Demetrius had narrowed it down to Alabama and Ole Miss. I encouraged him to listen to his gut and not make a decision based on where I chose to go. I impatiently waited to see how this would all unfold but knew regardless of which school he chose my feelings for him wouldn’t change. 3 weeks before graduation he calls me and tells me he chose Ole Miss. I was thrilled for many reasons. The first one being that he finally chose where he was going to spend the next four years of his life, one of the biggest decisions we’ve had to make yet, and second Ole Miss was my second choice so it was a win-win for me! I knew the next four years wouldn’t be easy but I was willing to do whatever it took to make the long-distance work. He moved me into my dorm and saying goodbye to him was the hardest thing I ever had to do. The uncertainty of what the future held terrified me, but luckily I had sorority recruitment to keep me busy the next few weeks. I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason and looking back at it now us choosing to go to two different schools was the best thing to ever happen to our relationship. We were able to grow on our own in ways we wouldn’t have been able to if we went to the same school.

“Distance makes the heart grow fonder” couldn’t have been more true over those 4 years apart. Through letters, facetime, phone calls, gift boxes, and surprise visits he always made me feel so loved even though we were 171 miles apart. As every year came to an end we would celebrate another year of doing the long-distance thing. 4 years later and I watch him cross the stage and can’t help but cry. He finally made it. We finally made it. The long-distance was finally over and we moved back to Roswell and our 3-hour drive to visit each other turned back into 15 minutes. We both were blessed to have a job after we graduated and the idea of spending the rest of my life with him was all I dreamed about. I knew over those 4 years at college that he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with for so many reasons. He was a man of God, intentional in every way, confident, a family man, caring, and quite the comedian. He always makes me feel safe and at peace no matter what I have going on. We had always talked about marriage and the idea of a proposal was always on our minds. I had suspected it was coming but didn't want to ruin his surprise so I went with the flow, which if you know me I like to be the planner so this was quite difficult for me. Eventually, I cracked and started interrogating him, but he had an excuse for everything I thought was suspicious so I talked myself out of the idea that a proposal was coming. I'll leave the rest of the details up to the master of proposals himself.....

I had been an expert on fine jewelry ever since my freshman year at Ole Miss. It wasn't Alex's doing but rather, mine. Call it "young love". I was as prepared for this day as anyone in all the history of marriage. The very first person I told of my plans was my mother. Although, ever since Alex and I started dating, she's been prefacing her sentences with "Someday, in 20 years when you get married, you'll...", she knew this day was coming sooner rather than later. In one of her favorite movies "When Harry Met Sally", Harry exclaims his love for Sally... "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."...Those were the very first words I spoke to Alexandria on that fateful day, January 5th 2020.

I was in NYC on a trip with my brothers. We left Christmas night and It was the most amazing vacations ever. But I had a dilemma. My date was the 5th. The sunday after we get back. I already bought the ring and was ready to pop the question. But how? I had some ideas. But I had to call in the big guns. Enter Maddie Rubio (MOH). She’d know what to do. After hours of planning I finally got It. I was gonna convince her to go camping in a camper in the Georgia mountains. My reasoning for such a random occasion was “I’m gonna be busy with this huge project at work and this may be the only weekend for a while to do something fun!”. I got her cousin Kelsey on board to let Alex take the weekend off from helping her christmas decor business (that was a process in and of itself) & we packed our bags (& unbeknownst to Alexandria, the ring!) & headed up to Blairsville! It was a “no phone weekend”. I wanted to use this time to just enjoy each other (plus I DID NOT want her tracking her friends or family or anything of that nature. That would completely blow my cover). Indeed we never used our phones except for a few selfies, directions, and for when I’d sneak into the restroom to update everyone on the status and the plan! It was a wonderful time. All the way up until Saturday night when her and I were watching the movie “A Family Man” on Netflix (how appropriate) and I could tell something was up. I knew that she knew. Things weren’t adding up for her and I knew that. So after pushing her to tell me what was wrong she said, with the most disheartened voice I’ve ever heard, “I really just thought you took me here to... I don’t know... propose to me....”... *gulp*.

“Whaaatt?? Aww babe, you really thought I’d ask you to marry me at a freakin camper in Blarisville?? That’s crazy!” I said laughing. “Oh gosh Alex I am so so sorry if you thought that... ugh I am so sorry I feel terrible for leading you on like that I had no idea.” I said confidently. “Alex we talked about waiting longer. I thought you knew that?”. And the Oscar goes to....She bought It. (“wooo... that was a close one”). We spent the next day hiking around waterfalls & state parks. It was wonderful. We drove back home after a fake call to my mom pretending that she made reservations at The Mill for Zoe’s “last American meal before going to Italy for school” & to dress nice. Another Oscar for Demetrius. Little did she know that at the same time we were driving back, her and my closest friends and family, some from out of state, were assembling at my house! 2 hours later we made It back, got ready, and drove over to The Mill. We turned onto the Mimosa Boulevard (the restaurant and Roswell square are at the other end of the street). I started to pull into a parking lot at the end of the street and she says “What’re you doing???” “I’m parking here so we can have a nice little stroll down to The Mill! It’s so nice out!” “I’ve been walking all day.” she said, “I am not walking all the way down there. Just park at The Mill!” After some back and forth, I knew I wasn’t going to win this battle. I softly panicked. My plan was to walk up to the square where Maddie and my photographer friend, Matt, were setting up for us (The square is right across from the mill)! This threw my whole plan off. Up to this point I had not calculated Alex’s stubbornness being an issue. Oh what a fool, how could I not have factored in the one thing that is practically guaranteed when trying to make Alex do anything that doesn’t make absolute sense to her?! Oh woe is me, what do I do?? At this point the voice in my head was starting to sound like Ralphie (the narrator) from A Christmas Story.

Think. I had to improvise. So we pulled into The Mill parking lot, went inside & got a drink. I told her, “Hey we should go walk around the square for a bit! It’s so nice outside!” “We literally just ordered drinks.” She said. She wasn’t having it. My anxiety was through the roof. She was hangry. Not good. I ran into the restroom to text Matt. Matt had texted me, “Come now” in reference to the light starting to fade. I start sweating. Ok that’s it. I walk out of the restroom and demand Alex go outside with me NOW! “What? No.”. I make up an excuse, “My parents need help with Zoe’s presents!” (lol what). “Ok well you can go help them, I’m staying here.” I was SO MAD. I slam my hand on the bar, “No, you’re coming outside because there is someone here to see you and I can’t tell you who It is but you gotta come outside NOW.” I was running out of time fast, the sun was going down like an hourglass on its last grains. “Well we haven’t even finished our drinks” she said laughing. “Fine.” I down her drink & then I chugg mine. “Can I get the check please?” Great. Now I’ve got a full on buzz, just like I planned. NOT. I sign the check, grab Alex and fast walk out of there. We make our way to the square and around to the Gazebo. I explain to Alex that there was no one here to see her, my family wasn’t coming, that the gift bag that I was holding wasn’t for Zoe and that she “was right the whole time”. Right when we walked up the back steps and I heard the music playing I lost it. Everything from that point forward was a blur. And all I remember was me crying on one knee, and Alex just saying “What?! Are you serious?! What?!” I really thought she’d be crying lol. But she said Yes!! Mission Accomplished. Let’s go home boys. Afterwards, we went to my house to “see my family” & were greeted by a huge “SURPRISE” from 50+ of our closest friends and family. It was magical. My anxiety quickly turned to joy and my joy turned into excitement for the things to come. It was all worth It.