We technically met long before we ever "really" met. We went to the same high school in Kentucky, walked the same halls, and even joined the same archery club, yet somehow, we remained complete strangers. Our paths crossed quietly, without either of us knowing how important the other would one day become. Years later, life brought us back together in an unexpected way. While attending Murray State University, I joined BCM, a campus ministry that gathered every Monday night. One evening, I recognized a familiar face in the room: BOAZ!! This time, I said hello first. That simple moment turned into a friendship that quickly grew meaningful. We spent time together, talked often, and even took a trip to Land Between the Lakes just before I moved to Boston in the Fall of 2021. Distance didn’t change our connection. We stayed close friends, keeping up with each other’s lives. In June 2022, Boaz came to visit me in Boston, where I happily became his tour guide. After that trip, our conversations deepened, and not long after, I visited Boaz while he was in New York. Our bond continued to grow, still rooted in friendship, trust, and shared experiences. Then, in a moment that felt both surprising and perfectly right, Boaz asked me to marry him on March 20, 2024. Two days later, on March 22, I said yes, marking the day we now celebrate as our anniversary. “Your friendship is wayyy too valuable for me to mess with,” and Boaz sure didn’t. Our friendship kept growing as we entered our relationship. We watched shows together, explored new cities side by side, stay up wayyy too late texting each other, and tried foods neither of us would have ever chosen on our own. We learned how to be teammates, how to laugh through the little things, and how to choose each other every day, despite the distance. Most importantly, we complete each other spiritually. We encourage one another to grow in faith, pray together, and keep Christ at the center of our relationship. What started as an unexpected reconnection became a friendship built on trust, joy, and purpose, and that friendship is the foundation of the love we share today. What began as strangers crossing paths became a love built on faith and friendship, and when he proposed, saying yes came naturally.