“We’re starting our life together..”

On 12/19/19, I get a snapchat notification that someone named Gio Nickerson added me. I checked to see that we knew each other through mutual friends. I added him back, he instantly messaged me and we started talking for a while. He was VERY interested in me whereas I was quite hesitant, I didn’t think I was interested in dating at the time but I appreciated having him as a friend and tried my hardest to try and meet him and hang out with him, everytime we made plans though, I got so nervous….I would cancel last minute. He would forgive me and try again, and the same thing would continue happening. He was so patient with me, so understanding, so forgiving. He always tried again. Until one day where I was too selfish and made a big mistake. He was rightfully upset and he decided it was best for him to part ways. I was sad but at the same time I knew I deserved it. A few months later and I realized more and more after the time that I missed him in my life, I messaged and apologized to him. Again, he forgave me. And we continued trying to be friends. Time went by and we both dated other people, still messaging each other from time to time but mostly living our lives apart. We checked in here and there throughout the next 2 years.

Finally december 23rd 2021 comes around. I was going through my contacts trying to reconnect with people before the holidays and I found Gio’s name again in my phone. I messaged him and we were both happy to start talking again. Something was much different this time… we called and we talked all night and basically all day the next few days. Gio asked me if we could finally meet, and if there was a snowstorm that upcoming day,and I decided not to go to work because of it; if he could come over and finally meet me. I said only if I decided not to go to work… The next day, I decided not to go to work. And I finally got the courage to get him to finally come over and meet me. We met and something in both of us just clicked. From that day we were inseparable. Knowing I was moving to Utah for cosmetology school in a few months, we tried to spend every single day with each other. We did, and it was some of my most favorite months of that year.

When the time came for me to finally move. Gio and his father moved me all the way down there, got me settled in, helped me check out more of Utah and figure out what my life was going to be like, took me out for food every day and I got to get to know his wonderful father more and more about gio. When they left, I didn’t believe I could do long distance with him. I made the decision to break it off and I thought that was what I wanted and what would be the best for me. It wasn’t. Gio and I still talked every. single. day. I decided it was too hard for me. I took a surprise visit up to washington a few months later, I told Gio I wanted to get back together and he gladly accepted. I got to see him and my family that I missed. And Gio and I had another goodbye but we were going to make long distance try and work. Months ago bye and Gio decides he wants to be closer to me, he wants to go to college and he found that Utah Valley University had a good program he would like to do. He got in, got an apartment down there, and moved up to be with me. We lived there for the next 6 months until I finished with my school. We both decided we wanted to move back to Washington, that that was our home. We went back to washington and tried to live our lives there together again.

We went through a lot of ups and downs the next few months. Some scary eye opening times together, which only brought us closer. October 10th 2023 Gio gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him. I OF COURSE say yes. We planned for December 19th 2024, to remember the very first day we ever met. To start both of our relationships on the same day… 5 years apart. Preparing for marriage and living together has been exciting and adventurous, at the same time stressful, and scary. We could not be more ready. I cannot wait to finally be a Nickerson….