While both living in Savannah, Georgia in 2017, we met through mutual friends and overlapping social circles. We developed a strong friendship, discovering a shared taste in music, similar sense of humor, and a love of travel. In a town where life moves at a slower pace, we quickly caught feelings for each other, and began dating by the end of 2018. Around this time we both felt a yearning to break out of our routines, go back to school, and pursue the next steps in our careers. And we knew we wanted to do it together. This led to us moving to North Carolina to complete our masters degrees at rival schools (Annie first to Chapel Hill for UNC, then Jake to Raleigh for NC State). We then moved from the Triangle up to Boston, where Jake completed his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tufts University and Annie conducted research at UMass. After enduring a few intermittent periods of being long-distance and moving up and down the East Coast, we (and our cat Ally) were ready to settle together somewhere for a while. We decided on the Washington, DC area to be closer to family and friends, and are currently residing in Annapolis, Maryland. Annie now works for the State of Maryland, conducting policy research and is continuing her career as a public servant, while Jake is a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University. As we embark on another new chapter, one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to each other. We can’t wait to get started spending the rest of our lives together, and we can’t think of a better place to kick it off than the city where our journey began. Thanks to all for being a part of our journey! With love, Annie & Jake