Arrington and I met 3 years ago at the beginning of the 2020 fall semester at the Our Lady of Wisdom Back to School Bash. We were both in line for snowballs, and she whipped around in line in front of me and introduced herself and asked abruptly “what’s your major?” “I’m Mechanical Engineering.” “You look like one!” She quickly turned back around. I felt like I should’ve been offended by that, so I was. And I was scared to speak to her again the rest of the night. Fast forward a semester later, Arrington’s put together some weekend sporting events, and we started getting to know one another. After a few weekends of soccer and her quarantining from COVID, I asked her to lunch (*Note from Arrington, "He slid into my GroupMe"). I don’t know if I necessarily knew she was the one this early, but somehow I knew she was going to challenge me. We went on a few more dates over the next couple of weeks and, not long after, started dating. We dated for 14 joyful and complex months. By the end, I had convinced myself that everything was okay, but Arrington knew that something just wasn’t right. After many long nights and conversations, Arrington and I broke up, and then we did what any normal couple that just broke up would do: we went on Pilgrimage together. We went to Italy with a large group and spent 10 days in some of the holiest places in the world, all the while trying to juggle a break up. This was 10 of the hardest days of both of our lives, but we both can attest to the grace that eventually blossomed from those days of struggling. Not long after this, my family welcomed my niece, Leah Knight, into the world. To this day I can’t explain what exactly had changed within me after she was born, but I know I was given the grace of a maturity and understanding that wasn’t there before, and I felt the Lord calling me to a deeper desire for holiness while single. Arrington and I spent the next 6 months trying to create some distance from one another, somewhat unsuccessfully, and allow each other the space and time to heal and find ourselves outside of one another. During this time, I graduated college and Arrington was in Florida working in the Disney college program. In January, Arrington finally moved back to Lafayette, and I had never been more anxious in my life. I know she was only human, but seeing her felt unreal, until I looked her into her eyes again. I immediately felt a calm and comfort from being around her again that I had deeply missed. We spent the next few months slowly getting to know one another again, and after five months, we went on our second “first” date in early May 2023. Eventually, I asked her to start officially dating again. I got home that night and told two of my best friends and now groomsmen in my wedding that I was going to marry this girl. I tried my hardest to quell this excitement, take things slow, and not get ahead of myself. The last thing I wanted to do was make the same mistakes and lose this second chance with the most amazing woman I had ever known. A few months later, though, she told me for the first time again that she loved me, and I told her I loved her too. In that moment, any ounce of hesitation or fear or anxiety was gone. I was going to marry this girl, and a "slow" 11 months later I proposed. Arrington and I have had a long journey with more ups and downs than I can remember. And I would do it all again, because she has been worth every moment spent pursuing her. I know that I’m a much better person, more confident, more mature, and more faithful than I was 3 years ago because of her. She was all those things first and inspired me to be a better man for her. I’m looking forward to every moment ahead of us that we get to continue to grow together and alongside one another for the rest of our lives as we pursue Heaven together and strive to become saints.