Me, my mom, and my sister went to New York City for a girls trip. We had been exploring the city all day, and our last stop was Washington Square Park to see the arch and the Christmas tree my sister had been "most excited to see." We found the arch, and I began taking pictures. I felt a hand on my back. I was afraid it might be a stranger, but I turned around to see a very familiar face instead. Corey Dale Burress. He had taken his very 1st flight ever all the way to NYC and perfectly arranged with my mom and sister to surprise me in a place both memorable and quaint. After getting over the initial shock that Corey was standing in front of me in NYC, I knew exactly what he was there to do. In my mind I was freaking out a bit. Thoughts of surprise, excitement, and anticipation filled my head, along with a small voice that said “this is not after my Optometry boards like we planned!” That last thought left as quickly as it came, and before I knew it Corey was down on one knee in New York City, in front of the beautiful Washington Square Arch asking me to spend forever with him. I cannot imagine anything more romantic or thoughtful than that. It felt like a dream. I never imagined I’d have a proposal fit for a movie, but I should’ve known my man wasn’t going to settle for anything less. Corey is the most thoughtful and loving man I know, and I can’t wait to begin forever with him.

Summer of 2016 was a special summer. One weekend I was out with my buddies on Kentucky lake. We heard we had more friends out on the water, so we headed their way to tie up and get our day started. As we pulled up I saw Brooke. I had been interested in her for a while and finally got up the courage to introduce myself. Little did I know she would one day become my fiancé. We started talking and one thing led to another. Soon we were headed on our first trip together. We went to the beach with my sisters and some friends where I asked her to my girlfriend, and she said yes. Man was I in for it though as she entered her last year of undergrad. It was her senior year, and she was ready to live it up. She definitely kept me on my toes! We had a few bumps in the road as well as lessons to learn from one another, but we grew to love each other more and more every day. She was accepted in to Optometry school and had to move to Memphis. We weren't sure how the distance would effect our relationship, but it ended up being a great growing time for us as individuals and as a couple. One day we started talking about marriage and looking at rings, now I'm planning a wedding with the soon to be Mrs. Burress!