It was the first day of high school, freshman year. Every student was buzzing with nerves and excitement, sprinting from the main office with locker numbers in hand, eager to see who they'd be next to. I finally found mine and, after struggling to unlock it for five solid minutes, a blonde girl opened her locker two spaces down. I knew exactly who she was, everyone did. She was the beautiful star volleyball player who had already made varsity as a freshman. Immediately, my face turned red and my heart started racing. In a full-on panic, I blurted out, “Do you know where the bio class is?” She smiled and said, “I’m in that class too, let's go together!” From that first day, we kept crossing paths between classes, at football games, and somehow always in the same group for class projects. But I really knew something was different during a football game one night. I was talking to some friends about finally getting my braces off when, out of nowhere, I heard her voice from five rows down: “Oh my gosh, you got them off! Let me see!” Trying to play it cool, I said, “No way.” But without realizing, I couldn't stop smiling. She laughed hysterically and shouted back, “You realize you just showed me, right?” I turned bright red, and in that moment, we both knew something special was beginning. Shortly after that, we were sitting next to one another in every class and texting every single night. The next three and a half years were filled with dances, family vacations, unforgettable summers with friends, and all the highs and lows of high school athletics... but we knew deep down what we have built would eventually be taken away from us. Bella received a scholarship to play volleyball at Valparaiso University, while I went on to study at Purdue University. This was the first major test in our young lives—facing long distance, doubters, and all the challenges that come with living in different cities. We both grew in our college lives but made the most of every opportunity to visit each other’s campuses and spend time together whenever we could. We always looked forward to summers and school breaks when we could be just 10 minutes apart in our hometown. As graduation approached, a move to Florida was on the horizon for me, knowing Bella still had a master’s program to finish. At that point, the move didn’t scare us. We were both excited knowing that soon, we’d be together again. From every night Facetiming to as many visits back home as I could make, we made it work until she moved down the following spring. What she didn’t know was that I had already bought something special before she arrived, I just needed the right moment to ask her. That moment came one summer evening, just before we were headed back home to Indiana. A walk on the beach felt like the perfect setting. We went searching for shells, one of her favorite things to do. On that walk I ended up finding a pretty unique shell... Soon after we added a new member to our little team, our dog, Knox. Now, after everything we’ve been through, we’re so excited to finally tie the knot and start this next chapter together.