In the year 2011, we were in the fifth grade, and we attended the same church. We were in several church plays together, and were members of the same youth group. We have several pictures together, but we were on opposite ends of the group. My mom always said when I was younger, "that Ballington boy is going to marry one of my girls one of these days." A few years past, and we reconnected in the year 2016, where we became best friends. People thought we were a couple; we were together all of the time. Jackson and I went of several vacations and trips with each others families, and we did everything together. If anyone knows Jackson, then you know he cannot keep anything a secret, and he had told everyone but me that he "liked me more than just a friend." And, if you know me, Cali, you know I am very strong willed, so, I took it upon myself to ask him out! Little did I know, that this would not only be the first day of the rest our lives, but also the beginning of falling in love with my best friend. Over the past six years, we have grown exponentially as individuals and as a couple, We both graduated High School in 2017. Then, I moved to Chattanooga to complete my Bachelor's of Nursing. Throughout this time, Jackson attended MTSU for his Bachelor's in Special Education, and we endured a long-distance relationship. In the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022, we both graduated college and started our first "adult" positions in our careers. Here we are now in 2023, engaged, and more ready than ever to be married. We have put in the hard work to provide for each other, and we have learned how to love deeper than I could have ever imagined when we were just 16 years old best friends.